private hearing aids

Dh has private hearing aids and finds them better than the NHS ones he had previously. He likes the fact that he can change the settings to reduce background noise etc.

They were hugely expensive and was disappointed that the NHS ones didn't fit the bill. He worked for the NHS for over 50 years and his job was instrumental in damaging his hearing.

My DH just got aids from Hidden Hearing. Cost was £5499 plus £110 for insurance. Rechargeable, small. He thought that by getting top of the range that all would be well. Two weeks wearing them and he has problems. They switch themselves off! He is a night time HGV driver so works in a noisy environment. I’ve since seen adverts for aids up to £3000. I’m beginning to wonder if we were overcharged. He did have NHS ones but they were uncomfortable so he didn’t wear them. I would have shopped around . He was convinced that HH would be the best. I’ll keep you posted - we have an appointment tomorrow with the technician.

Perhaps had a NHS one as back up? If you do go down the private route?

DH went to an independent practice for his. He gets a check up every year and the aids can be adjusted remotely and he can blue tooth to the TV.

We took my mother to an NHS clinic and they told us that their hearing aids would not be powerful enough for her loss of hearing. the aids they recommended were nearly £3000 (50% reduction) and all I can say is that she can now hear and we don’t get a headache from watching the tv with her. But she is 100 so its quite a outlay.

My hubby was lucky to compare both private from Boots and the NHS.
The private ones he had on a trial for a month which came with a full refund if not satisfied. He had had NHS and was having an upgrade at the same time so did a comparison.
From a hearing point of view he found no difference. The difference was the private was smaller.

Just back from our appointment. The technician swapped the hearing aids for a new pair. There was a power drop out problem, so basically a faulty set. I wonder how many people put up with problems rather than taking them back. Given what we paid, we will make sure they work.

We've dropped the idea now. Especially since reading some of your replies.
I went to our ladies group today and a new lady was sitting next to me. I could tell she had hearing problems, even when wearing hearing aids. I asked her about them and she said she bought them "privately". But they weren't much help.
The only positive I can see is that you can get inside ear aids so maybe easier to get in and out.
I think I'm getting like my Dad who had severe hearing loss partly due to experiencing explosions during his service during the war. but he refused help and said he didn't want to hear anyway. Except music, which he loved. And could hear!

My mother spent several thousands on hearing aids and was never very happy with them. When she suddenly went into hospital, she couldn't hear anybody so was given NHS ones - and said they were the best she'd ever had!

I'm fairly sure you can get "in the ear" hearing aids on the NHS if they are suitable for your hearing loss. They aren't suitable for all. I had private hearing aids in 1996 as there was a year or two after digital hearing aids came out when they weren't available to me on the NHS. They were a huge improvement on the analogue ones but you have to pay for batteries & service too. They were about 2.5k then. When I needed new ones about 4 years later, the NHS were doing digital aids and I've got hearing aids from the NHS ever since. Find them absolutely brilliant.OK, you can probably still tell I'm deaf, but hearing aids aren't like glasses, there are none that give you perfect hearing. I find myself hoovering with the hoover turned off if I don't wear them, they are my ears to me.