Double trouble- help !

I was referred to an audiologist by my doctor. They provide a service at the surgery every few weeks and I have the most up to date NHS hearing aids at no cost to me.

Yet again. In true Gransnet fashion.
Tons of great invaluable advice hints and tips, from a very experienced group of ladies

We are blessed to have you all.

No,kitty was correct, the OP asked "2questions for you lovely ladies"

I recently had cataracts in both eyes removed. They were very dense and none of the surgeons wanted to do the procedure. I saw maybe 10 surgeons before a decision to proceed happened. The right eye went horribly wrong but after a year in recovery I don’t need reading glasses. The left eye was straight forward and that’s my long distance eye. Together I was discharged with 20/20 vision for driving, watching TV. I was told that in my case the cataracts cannot regrow but if I become worried, laser should help. Anyone hesitating? Go ahead.

crazyH - If I were you I wouldn't dream of buying a hearing aid online. There was a thread about hearing aids a few days ago and lots of good info, but to repeat, even though your hearing loss is mild, it's very personal to you and you have no idea how it will progress so get a referral from your GP to the NHS audiology service and you will be equipped with almost top of the range hearing aids that are programmed for you and you only. The link between hearing loss and dementia is now well-documented, and if you need your TV on at 50 or 60 your loss is advanced so you should sort out the issue.

As far as your cataracts are concerned, this depends on where you are in the country and on the nature of the lens you need. The NHS are providing cataract surgery very quickly now via private clinics all over the place and you get to choose where you want to go. Generally, the private clinics are offering surgery much quicker than NHS hospitals, and I was recently offered (in the South West) a cataract procedure for just one week after assessment by such a clinic. However, the NHS which is contracting these clinics will only provide a basic lens which I think for most people is fine. But if like me, you have a complication and need a different type of lens (I apparently need a tonic lens) then it can 't be provided on the NHS so I have no option but to pay privately.

Thanks all - I’m hoping to go to the Surgery tomorrow. So many things happening - opthamogy appt tomorrow, hearing -aid appt Thursday - meanwhile I will try to see if I can get a GP referral for hearing aid

The op referred to “lovely ladies” hence the comment about men being in this group

Cataracts...I have now been waiting for 3 years for a hospital appointment.. I was told by another lady in the surgery waiting room that she had had to wait for 5 years before she got a hospital appointment. That was was for the first appointment to see a doctor and then another three years before she actually had the surgery!!

Re cataracts, the NHS here farms them out, so to speak, to a private provider. An ex colleague whose cataracts were extremely bad (he hadn’t seen a doctor or an optician in years) was sent to one of these, and I picked him up after the first was done.
I phoned him the following morning to ask how it was. Absolutely astonishing! For the first time in years he could read the departure board notice in the railway station close to his 3rd floor flat!
Should add that he was very far from well off so there was never any question of paying for the treatment.

After about a month he had the other eye done by the same provider.

My husband purchased hearing aids last August from Specsavers at a cost of £2000. He's very pleased with them. Unfortunately in our area, referrals to NHS audiology are taking in excess of 18 months( he is on the waiting list and the 18 months was quoted after he'd been waiting for 4 months) and there are no contracts with the likes of Boots, etc for referrals,aids on the NHS. He has quite significant hearing loss so our only option was to pay. Good luck, hope its easier for you to obtain yours

Yes you contact your GP say you think you have hearing loss they will refer you to audiologist (specsavers in many areas) they will give you a full hearing test and provide up to date hearing aids if necessary. In some areas that could take months. Sometimes the audiologist is many miles away.
Don’t bother with online ones however good their marketing.
I must say my apple airpods are very good. Cost about £250 includes inbuilt hearing test that adapts them to your hearing loss. But a bit erratic or perhaps I just wasn’t clever enough to employ all their intelligence but the married up well with my phone etc…and really good sound quality.
Have tried them all but have actually settled for very expensive top of the range phonak ones that are so comfortable and flexible.
Good luck.
I did have some very good NHS ones when their audiology was run by specsavers then my nhs trust changed suppliers and the new audiologists were rude inept and the hearing aids not working, apparently always my fault.
So horses for courses.
Depends where you are, what’s on offer and how unusual your hearing loss is in both ears.
The online ones I got just screamed feedback and there is no returning.

Please don’t buy hearing aids online! I made that mistake and fell for the adverts that pop up on facebook feeds etc. The online hearing aids had some big flaws - mainly no maximum power outlet, which will dampen any amplifying over a certain number of decibels. I thought my eardrums would burst when my husband sneezed rather close to my ear. I sent them back in time to promised refund if within so many days. No reply over and over again. In desperation I said when they refunded me I might be interested in an upgrade. That worked, they refunded. I didn’t go for the upgrade. Boots or Specsavers (where I then went) have safe hearing aids and excellent free aftercare which I used frequently.

I was talking to my sis in-law, yesterday, who uses hearing aids and she suggested I ask for rechargeable ones, because the batteries are very expensive. Anyone here using those ?
I think I will continue with the Boots appointment, since I don’t how long the waiting list is if I go the NHS route.
And very sincere apologies to the ‘lovely men’ on this site, for only addressing the ‘lovely ladies’. Sorry !

I have an NHS hearing aid, fitted at my local health clinic and got the app to support it. A friend paid £3k for hers, they didn’t last so she asked to change them and was quoted £6k. Needless to say she now has NHS ones which are fine. Go NHS , they are more up to date than you think

I too want hearing aids only when surrounded by background noise, to hear a conversation.
My NHS hearing aids are useless at this, they amplify everything.

Our doctor, a friend, preferred his NHS to his state of the art ones.

Most people here are, rightly, very happy with their NHS hearing aids. They work extremely well for the vast majority of people, especially older people as they are primarily designed for hearing speech. Around 95% of people have a sensioneural hearing loss affecting the high frequencies and, for most people, it will be a mild to moderate loss. This is where NHS aids come into their own. I have had NHS aids and, nearly a year later, am on the waiting list for new ones. The existing aids are nowhere near strong enough and, if l had not gone down the private route, I would be struggling in every situation. I have an unusual mixed hearing loss - conductive and sensioneural - with loss across all frequencies and especially the low and high frequencies. My left ear has a moderate to severe loss and my right ear a moderate loss. Most of all, as a professional musician, I needed a decent music programme. For me, even though the cost of the private hearing aids was eye watering, they were worth every penny and the aftercare is excellent, too. My audiologist has said that he prescribes according to need and very few people would benefit from the aids l have. If I could have NHS hearing aids that perform in the way these ones can, especially for music, and have them updated more frequently than every three years at a minimum, then of course l would go for them.

crazyH

I was talking to my sis in-law, yesterday, who uses hearing aids and she suggested I ask for rechargeable ones, because the batteries are very expensive. Anyone here using those ?
I think I will continue with the Boots appointment, since I don’t how long the waiting list is if I go the NHS route.
And very sincere apologies to the ‘lovely men’ on this site, for only addressing the ‘lovely ladies’. Sorry !

I think that batteries are free if you go for NHS ones. I opted for rechargeable aids as I didn't want to be disposing of so many batteries. I just put my aids in the charger overnight.
I did buy privately as the NHS wait was over 2 years.
I strongly recommend you wear them all the time if you want the best result. Your brain needs to get used to them and it won't if you only wear them occasionally

V3ra

^You have to visit your Surgery and be referred by your GP for NHS hearing aids.^

Not all health authorities offer hearing aids through the NHS, which is most unfair.

Ours does, and I got mine from Scrivens. They just needed to know my NHS number.

I did go to Boots initially but they only offer private hearing aids, presumably that's everywhere if you've been told the same.

I had a hearing test via my doctors a few years ago and was offered a hearing aid which I didn’t accept because my hearing loss wasn’t too bad and I think it was Specsavers that I was sent to. I wish I’d taken up the offer now, though.

GoldenAge

crazyH - If I were you I wouldn't dream of buying a hearing aid online. There was a thread about hearing aids a few days ago and lots of good info, but to repeat, even though your hearing loss is mild, it's very personal to you and you have no idea how it will progress so get a referral from your GP to the NHS audiology service and you will be equipped with almost top of the range hearing aids that are programmed for you and you only. The link between hearing loss and dementia is now well-documented, and if you need your TV on at 50 or 60 your loss is advanced so you should sort out the issue.

As far as your cataracts are concerned, this depends on where you are in the country and on the nature of the lens you need. The NHS are providing cataract surgery very quickly now via private clinics all over the place and you get to choose where you want to go. Generally, the private clinics are offering surgery much quicker than NHS hospitals, and I was recently offered (in the South West) a cataract procedure for just one week after assessment by such a clinic. However, the NHS which is contracting these clinics will only provide a basic lens which I think for most people is fine. But if like me, you have a complication and need a different type of lens (I apparently need a tonic lens) then it can 't be provided on the NHS so I have no option but to pay privately.

GoldenAge a toric lens is available on the NHS if you are very short sighted. I have had my left eye cataract treated with a standard long distance lens filled. I’ve been told that as my right eye has an ADD of +3 that I can have a toric lens. However, and this isn’t limited to the NHS, because I have an astigmatism and another defect, measuring my lens has proven to be difficult, this makes having a toric lens fitted more of a risk as the placement has to be very accurate compared to a standard lens and can mean having to have a second operation.

Husband had excellent nhs aids. Don’t waste your money you’ll need it in this current world for dentists!

I do find hearing aids are not very good in a crowded environment. They pick up noise from behind you making it difficult to hear people closer to you.

My hearing aids have a function where you can press down on one of the volume buttons, and lessen the background noise. I think this applies to all hearing aids.

I have always been able to connect my NHS hearing aids to an app on my phone, but I have just acquired a new phone which allows me to Bluetooth sound directly into my hearing aids - audiobooks, phone calls etc.. Hearing others on the phone is so much improved. I am delighted with it.

UPDATE went to Opthamolgy Dept yesterday. Had various tests and finally saw the Consultant Opthamologist. Had more tests.
Diagnosis : with glasses my sight is 98%. So he didn’t want to ‘put me through’ cataract surgery. No, I’m not that old 😂
I was the last patient of the day. I’m hoping he wasn’t in a rush …..anyway I’m pleased.
Thursday, audiologist again, for hearing aids.
Yes, I could have gone down the NHS route. The long waiting list is what’s putting me off. At our age, time is of the essence.
Will keep you posted.
Thanks all x