Hearing aids

OldFrill thank you for your interesting reply. I wonder if the audiologist disabled that feature for me as I'd said I didn't like it? I'll ask next time I go.

V3ra

^NHS hearing aids are computer programmed by profession audiologists to amplify the sounds you personally are not hearing properly, reduce background noise/interference, they are blue tooth connected so the wearer can hear phone calls, TV etc straight to their aids. They can also be programmed for different environments, I have home, pub and hard acoustic areas. If you want it you can have an app that means you can do some simply adaptations yourself.^

My NHS aids do all of this apart from the phone and TV going straight into my ears.
My private aids did and I didn't like it, that's why I went back to the NHS ones.
I have the Ambio 77 danalogic aids.
They are Bluetooth connected to the BeMore app on my phone and I can adjust the pitch and volume settings via that.

Any aids that are Bluetooth enabled will work with other Bluetooth enabled devices, phone, TV etc. But you don't have to use that connection if you'd rather not.
My only criticism is they aren't rechargeable but l think some health authorities are supplying rechargeable aids.

NHS hearing aids are computer programmed by profession audiologists to amplify the sounds you personally are not hearing properly, reduce background noise/interference, they are blue tooth connected so the wearer can hear phone calls, TV etc straight to their aids. They can also be programmed for different environments, I have home, pub and hard acoustic areas. If you want it you can have an app that means you can do some simply adaptations yourself.

My NHS aids do all of this apart from the phone and TV going straight into my ears.
My private aids did and I didn't like it, that's why I went back to the NHS ones.
I have the Ambio 77 danalogic aids.
They are Bluetooth connected to the BeMore app on my phone and I can adjust the pitch and volume settings via that.

I was told by an audiologist that if your hearing is failing and you don't wear aids, the brain will forget the sounds you currently can't hear. If you persevere with aids you will retain the ability to hear certain sounds when amplified - otherwise the ability to hear those pitches or sounds will be lost to you forever.

I have brilliant hearing aids - NHS. The new ones have every tweak in the book and spending money on them is not necessary.

When you get them put them in, leave them in and take them out when you go to bed. Things will sound strange to start with - paper rustling, cutlery in a drawer etc. But within 48 hours it will be fine. All this tinkering about, taking them in and out achieves nothing.

Just bung 'em in!

Since 2018, I have had two pairs of NHS supplied hearing aids. They are mini RITE style and from day one I had no difficulty at all so much so that I cannot feel them in my ears and have been known to go to bed wearing them. However, at my last appointment I was warned that these would no longer be supplied by the NHS owing to cost issues. I tried out some receiver behind the ear aids and there is no way I would change to these which means inevitably I will have to pay privately. I suspect that people who struggle to acclimatise to hearing aids are being fitted with the bulky receiver behind the ear style. I am upset that I will be denied the aids that work best for me especially as my hearing loss is not self-inflicted unlike other conditions which the NHS spends millions on treating. I am intending to complain but doubt that I will get anywhere.

Outcast52

Can I ask if anyone has noticed hearing aids helping with tinnitus?

Not in my case, but my tinnitus doesn't bother me. It does reduce if l eat less sugar.

SillyNanny321

Thumbs again! Aids just pick up some sounds but not others. Apparently because they are NHS & therefore cheap I am told! When I am reincarnated I come back with enough money to buy top of the range 😂

NHS hearing aids are computer programmed by profession audiologists to amplify the sounds you personally are not hearing properly, reduce background noise/interference, they are blue tooth connected so the wearer can hear phone calls, TV etc straight to their aids. They can also be programmed for different environments, I have home, pub and hard acoustic areas. If you want it you can have an app that means you can do some simply adaptations yourself.
Whoever you're listening to are spewing out totally incorrect information.

I have NHS hearing aids. In Kent we collect our free batteries from Hi Kent a charity, battery collection is done by volunteers and you can attend social events as well. A really good service.
The aids can help with tinnitus.

Outcast52

Can I ask if anyone has noticed hearing aids helping with tinnitus?

You do not hear the tinnitus when you have your aids in, at least I don't and friends say the same. I hear mine at night, as I obviously do not wear my aids at night

I think the nhs is wonderful. If I lose my hearing aid it’s £47.50 to replace. The batteries are free and I can hear birdsong. There are other extraneous noises I could do without ,DH peeing early morning full stream and this evening crunching a ginger biscuit. His mother must never have told him they were for dipping in tea.

Can I ask if anyone has noticed hearing aids helping with tinnitus?

Oh, and I have moulds. They are brilliant.

I have had different types of hearing loss for most of my life. I have had two aids for a number of years and would not be without them. I was recently unable to wear them because I had infections and I (and everyone else!) really noticed. I am now able to wear them again and the difference is phenomenal. Between the infections and straining to hear and lip read I was permanently exhausted. I feel so much better. Yes, they are not perfect and I could really do with new ones as the right aid is not really strong enough and the left one emits some ear splitting squeaks and squawks at all the most inconvenient moments but, as a professional musician, they help me survive.

SillyNanny321

Thumbs again! Aids just pick up some sounds but not others. Apparently because they are NHS & therefore cheap I am told! When I am reincarnated I come back with enough money to buy top of the range 😂

I can assure you the digital NHS hearing aid are the best, I have spent thousands on private aid and nothing has come near these latest NHS digital ones I have now, make sure you get the right aids for your need, do not be vain and decline moulds, if you need moulds due to your hearing loss have them, I love mine.

Ramola, can't you get the rechargeable batteries replaced?
Have you asked?

I had a throat issue, and part of the testing/checking, they also checked my hearing. I had/and still don't have any functional issues BUT when it was suggested that I did actually have slightly diminished hearing, I was amazed at simple things like birdsong and electric cars.
The audiologists told me that if you do not use them, your brain will switch off a little, and it will take some time to get that hearing back, so new users will gradually regain some that they have lost over time, but she also warned that the older you are/ the longer you ignore it, the less chance of recovery.
And yes dementia is a risk

They do take some getting use to, for me everything sounded so natural? But I persevered as I couldn’t afford to have the expensive private ones. I absolutely love them now and I know people are very grateful that they don’t have to repeat and elevate their voices do I can hear. I agree with OldFrill

My question is, should I get some new more modern hearing aids? Are the NHS aids as good as people are telling me? Is it difficult using the features connected to a mobile phone?

Romola I had NHS aids to start with, then the audiologist at Scrivens told me about their offer where you can have private aids on a 60 day, money back, guarantee.
So because my husband and several friends had these all-singing, all-dancing aids I thought I'd try them.
Like you I only have hearing loss in the upper register.

Personally, I didn't like things like phone calls, and listening to the radio through my phone (which I do a lot), coming straight into my ear. I found it annoying and quite claustrophobic.
The audiologist deleted this function from the app for me, plus one or two others (forget which), and after all that I decided I was paying an awful lot of money for nothing better than my NHS ones offered.
I cancelled my contract and gave the private aids back.

My NHS aids have an app on my phone where I can adjust the settings of the three registers individually, and save different settings as favourites.
I can put them in, tweak the settings, and forget about them.
All the maintenance, batteries , ear cushions, tubes and appointments are free.
I'm perfectly happy with them.

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Goodness! So many negative waves here!!

You have to have patience to get used to Hearing Aids. Just like a new pair of shoes.

I lost a chunk of my hearing after contracting Viral Meningitis when I was was in my late 30's. I paid £3,000 privately for Aids and 60p each for batteries which lasted for (c) 9-11 days x 2. They were Aids that were very solid and moulded to fit your ear and didn't feel particularly safe to me. I was always aware of them and because there was no way for air to enter the build up of wax was massive. I went go the Treatment Room at my Health Centre twice a year for syringing. The NHS no longer provide this service.

Go on 12-years and I was relating this to a girlfriend when out at lunch. She suggested that I ask my Dr about NHS ones 'like hers' as they were superior to the ones she'd worn for yonks beforehand. I'd known her over a decade and I didn't even know she wore Aids!!

Hers went over the ear with a slim silicone lightweight ear insert. Like me she has long blonde hair and so her Aids had never shown.

So I saw my Doc and within days I had an appointment with the hospital Audiology Dept. Two weeks later I was back to have my new Aids tuned and fitted.

They are absolutely fantastic and far superior to the Siemens that I'd bought privately. In 10-years I've not had a single problem with them. And I'm saving (c) £50pa on batteries as they are supplied f.o.c.

But you have to persevere to get used to the noise of daily life. Not doing so is just downright silly and makes everything so much more difficult - not just for you but to everyone you encounter every day.

Positive waves!
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Hearing aids, dentures, prostetic devices of any kind take gettin used to. If you don't wear them, you will not get used to them.

If they really do no good, get back to the clinic and state your trouble politely.

Or give up and resign yourself to a silent world.

It is entirely up to you, but these are your options.

Thumbs again! Aids just pick up some sounds but not others. Apparently because they are NHS & therefore cheap I am told! When I am reincarnated I come back with enough money to buy top of the range 😂

At 80 I have used hearing aids for around 15 years. At first I had neat small ones from NHS then replaced by massive, for my very small ear canals, aids that just have got worse at each replacement. Told this is what NHS allow now so take them or leave them! Sadly had to take them. Due to the discomfort of these heavier aids I do not use them when at home as can turn radio up a bit without annoying the neighbours due to lounge on outside end wall. Wearing them when with family & friends they do not help me hear that much better they

Just reading other answers l can link my aids to my iphone, loops etc. Also it will will locate my aids if l cannot find them as well as changing loudness and other settings.

My daughter in law is stone deaf without hers,…so they can work ..