Hearing aids attached to spectacles

I sympathise with your frustration Winterwhite. It does get easier with practice but the solution for me was to get new glasses with a narrower end to the side arm. I haven’t heard of any hearing aids that are attached to glasses.

Just keep practicing. My glasses fit behind the device and don’t move when in place. I’m sorry you didn’t get a patient audiologist. Mine let me practice in front of a mirror.
If I’m putting the right aid in I hold it in place with my left hand, arm over my head.then feed the tube into the ear then swap for the other ear. It’s done in seconds now. I’ve had mine six months and love them, especially the blue tooth. Hope this helps.

I found the same with mine. I spoke to the receptionist and she changed the tube from the aid to the earpiece for a longer one, that's helped. I also "stretched and curled" the tube and the tail piece with my thumbnail so they were a better fit for my ears.
I have to be careful not to knock them out of place when I put my glasses on or comb my hair.

My audiologist wasn't really prepared to help with the practicalities either.

I'd say persevere as uncorrected hearing loss is a known risk factor for developing dementia, that's what prompted me to have a test in the first place.
I have moderate loss in the upper register. I can manage without my hearing aids, but it's amazing how noisy the water is when a tap is running so I obviously had been missing things!

My father's hearing aids were part of his glasses.
It was years ago though - I mean 1950s/60s when he first got them. He died in 1992 but still had a similar pair then.

Most of the modern ones clip onto your frame and go behind the ear.

In-ear-aids seem to be what some glasses-wearers use.
My friend has gone over to wearing contact lenses.

Thanks v much for this. I’ll persevere for a week and if still struggling ask for another appointment and explain the problem. Will also pursue the sort that clip on to glasses.

In-ear-aids seem to be what some glasses-wearers use.

I've got a private pair of these on a 60 day trial at the moment.
The sound in general is a bit muffled. They have a lot of features and settings that I either don't like or can't get on with.
The audiologist has deleted these so in effect I'm paying for things I haven't got, and don't particularly want anyway.
I've gone back to my behind the ear NHS aids and have notified the surgery that I will be returning the private pair.

Combined glasses and hearing aids are still around - I've seen them advertised in newspapers. However, whether they are tailor-made for both hearing and sight loss is debatable.
Having worked in both audiology and optometry I wouldn't really advise them. One thing to bear in mind is that, if your hearing aid becomes faulty you have then lost the use of your glasses too and vice versa.
My best advice is to persevere with your hearing aid and if you are still struggling go back to the clinic and see what adjustments can be made. They do take a while to get used to but don't feel you have to put up with having to struggle.

I was really sorry to read of the indifferent service you received from the audiologist.

That's really interesting mrswoo
My father's all-in-one glasses were amazing. He did have them regularly serviced and also (less often) needed new lenses.
He had a spare pair after the old ones were "upgraded" so was never really struggling.

Good point though. I haven't known anyone else with some like his. They had quite chunky arms - but so did lots of men's glasses I think.

I had aids just before Christmas. I struggled to put them in properly (I have child-sized earholes!) but persevered and have got it down to a T. I also wear specs and I put those on first so the behind-the-ear bit rests on the arm of the specs, otherwise the combination rubs the ears sore. However, I have twice "lost" one of them - not discovered till I went to put them on charge - but fortunately found it in a flower bed outside. It had actually rained overnight but the aid appears to have survived. I have them insured for loss and damage.

I can't get on with the bluetooth to my mobile phone - if I don't know where it is there is no sound to alert me (or DH) to its location and I need to find it in order to charge it up. So despite it being brilliant in theory it is an inconvience to me.

I feel there are a lot of other functions but no-one explained them to me and I also felt rushed in the fitting time and had to go back twice to have things explained.

They cost over £3,000 so I hope they last a long time.

I knew someone with combined glasses/ hearing aids, but she said they were very costly. I am struggling with a new pair of spectacles at the moment. I’ve been back twice already so am putting off pursuing the possibility of hearing aids for the time being, but my tinnitus is getting worse, so I am not sure I can put it off too much longer. My hearing isn’t a problem except in a crowded noisy room, ( which I rarely frequent). But combining different needs is not easy.

Thanks for that mrswoo. Nothing is as good as it seems is it. My eyes are far worse than my ears and my glasses prescription is always changing. I was imagining that the hearing aids clipped onto the frames. Hadn't realised they were integral.

winterwhite I think the new ones can be either clips or fixed.
My father's were fixed but I think most are clips now.*

I’ve had NHS hearing aids for several years and though I can hear without them they certainly make sounds clearer. Last time the audiologist attached then to Bluetooth on my iPhone and tho it has taken me a while to get used to, I now find it great to hear the phone ringing straight into my ear and not disturb others as I always needed the loudspeaker on. All the audiologists at our clinic are very considerate and patient, thankfully.

teabagwoman

I sympathise with your frustration Winterwhite. It does get easier with practice but the solution for me was to get new glasses with a narrower end to the side arm. I haven’t heard of any hearing aids that are attached to glasses.

Well, I know a lot of my parents' generation used them in the 1970s, but I do not know if you can still get them.

Try googling!

I've worn aids and glasses for decades. It takes a while to get used to the aids, but worth the patience.

Think long and hard before going private. My latest NHS aids are bluetooth, so the phone, radio etc goes straight into my ears. They are far superior to the private aids I bought at a cost of £4K.

Also, remember that if you wear hearing aids you are entitled to a disabled person's railcard which gives 30% discount for you and for one other person travelling with you.

I admit I haven't read all the responses, but I'm with the majority, I think.
I've worn glasses practically all my life, and have worn NHS hearing aids for about 4 years now, and don't have any trouble. I just rest the tube over the top of my ears and push the other bit into my ear.
Keep at it!

NotSpaghetti

Does that help their hearing?!
.

Eric Sykes had hearing aids attached to a glasses frame. He didn't have lenses in them though

I have wondered about those. Will be interested to hear of any experiences. I have an NHS hearing aid that I find very difficult to put in. It is a solid lump of silicon type material connected to a wire and an over the ear casing. I can't have a 'pod' type aid as I have a grommet fitted. The material causes my ear to itch and is very uncomfortable. I have made an appointment to see if there is an alternative as I find it exhausting trying to find the right way round....here's hoping.

My father wore hearing aids for several years and he always struggled with them, including losing them in Sainsbury’s, where (amazingly) they were found on the main shop floor! They really were the bane of his life. Aged 99, he wasn’t dexterous enough to fit them in or change the battery and he was far too independent to ask us for help.

I’ve seen a documentary about children with hearing aids and I think one baby had the hearing aids somehow fitted within a head band thingy. Worked very well it seems.

I also attended an online seminar about hearing aids and some people always find them difficult.

It feels to me extraordinary that so much time and money is spent on research to make hearing aids as tiny as possible but what seems to be important is that they are as wearable as possible. I’d be perfectly happy with some that stick on a pair of glasses, or a hair band or a hat, if they worked and didn’t get lost!

Anyway, it sounds from others on here, that if you persevere you should be ok. I hope they work well for you once you’ve got used to them.

🌷🌷🌷

I’ve been wearing NHS aids for 6 years, although I no longer wear glasses I do wear sunglasses and night vision glasses for driving. I would go back to your audiologist and check you have the correct ear tube fitting, I had to have different ones to those I was originally prescribed. Another couple of things I find help is pulling my ear cartilage away from my head just above the lobe when inserting the ear piece and I always clean my outer ear and the ear piece every day with an unscented wet wipe which makes the ear piece slide in more easily

my husband did not have them attached to specs but he had aids inserted into his ears. He could not get on with them and has stopped wearing them. To be honest it was not for poor hearing but to allegedly help his tinnitus .

Not sure what you mean Barbadosbelle?
Sorry, a bit confused.