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My hearing has deteriorated over the last couple of years (I'm 58). I find it difficult to hear people in meetings at work and often have subtitles on the TV. I had a hearing test at the opticians and was given NHS hearing aids. I have tried using them, but can honestly say that they don't make my hearing any better. They magnify all the background noises so I struggle just as much if not more. Are there different types of hearing aid? Would a private one be better? How do you know where to go for a trustworthy service?

Do you have to go to GP to get hearing tested or do they refer you? I think my hearing is getting worse but not sure if its just the noise around me that makes it difficult to hear others talking.

I remarried 3 years ago, and I realised I was constantly asking my new husband to repeat what he had said. I went for a hearing test, which detected no problems , but I still can't hear anything he says the first time. Are NHS hearing tests infallible or have I just married a mumbler?

After many years of being in very noisy environments and being around lots of loud live music (before the days of ear defenders!), I now have mild tinnitus. Is hearing loss another inevitable outcome of this?

I can hear people around me quite well, but have difficulties listening to the TV. Listening to dramas especially, when actors are speaking low, and the background noise increases, makes it almost impossible to hear what is being said.

Wondering whether it's a hearing problem or poor direction by TV companies.

Can you get a range of aids for hearing loss with the NHS or do you only really get the best treatment if you're able to pay for it? My partner suffers at times and is terrified of losing his hearing as music is his life!

how can I discreetly ask people to face me so I can read their lips, I find this much easier than struggling to hear them as my hearing is getting worse.

I'd like to know if there are any early warning signs to look out for? For example; is tinitus a sign that hearing loss will follow?

Can chronic otitis externa lead to permanent hearing loss? I've had it for five years and during that time had complete deafness in one ear which is then sorted out with microsuction. Then it reruns and the cycle continues! I've noticed over the years my hearing is a lot worse and I've also found out I have exostosis. Maybe that's what the cause is?

I have lost some of the low tones in both ears and the hearing aids precribed by the NHS really don't help. I was warned that they are really for high tone loss, so i shouldnt expect too much.

I really dont know what to do...my hearing is becoming a bit of a joke amongst family (not being unkind, but I have to laugh at myself or I'd cry!) I am on a very low income so cant afford anything private/expensive. Do you have any suggestions as to anything which might help, please? I'm ok 1-1 as long as its in a quiet environment, but can't make out what is being said, if people aren't looking at me or if there is background noise.

I have had significant hearing issues, often related to the time of day. In the morning I struggle to hear out of the ear I woke up with is painful and often hard of hearing.

i have tinitus, What can i de to reduce this?

I've had tinnitus for about three years now and the level has remained fairly constant. It's a buzzing noise which seems to act like "white noise" - muffling other sounds, especially voices. Patricia, did your Meniere’s disease lead to tinnitus, as it did for my father-in-law? If so, have you learned any good distraction techniques? I seem to hum or whistle quietly to myself most of the time, but this must be really annoying for other people.

I'm in my 70s and aware for some time now that my hearing is deteriorating. A younger friend (early 60s) has had a cochlear implant and is over the moon at the transformation this has meant for her life. If found suitable for my problems, is there an upper age limit for having this on the NHS?

I have what they call 'neurological' hearing loss and I really wish people were informed about it! I can hear but I cannot 'discriminate' ie understand what is said if there are competing noises. How rare it this and why is it such a 'poor relation'? Can they really do nothing to improve it?

Is there an age when you should generally start going for hearing tests, or do you just go when you feel things are not right in your hearing.

I have no hearing in my left ear at all due to measles as a baby, now the my "good" ear is deficient. I have been told a hearing aid would not help as it is just not quite bad enough, my low tones are good but higher tones are poor and I have tinnitus. Is a private hearing aid better than an NHS one and is that why I was not considered for it?

I have tinnitus and hearing loss. My question is, can I make either condition worse by going somewhere where there is loud music?

MY husband's hearing has got steadily worse and it does cause difficulties and frustrations for the whole family - he asks us to repeat things all the time and doesn't seem to have heard things the family have talked about.
He had a hearing aid for 1 ear on the nhs about a year ago but no longer uses it as he says it doesn't make any difference. I have suggested he goes back to check it's working properly etc but he hasn't. I don't think he realises how it's affecting the rest of the family and how we have a laugh about it to get over our frustration. I'm worried he's missing out on life around him.
Is an implant suitable for someone like him?

I've been struggling with sudden onset of tinnitus and hyperacusis for the past 3yrs, despite slight hearing loss at first it improved after a few months adjusting to the constant buzz/hiss, the specialist I saw couldn't explain why it had happened and put it down to anxiety/stress, I was given a white noise generator which helps slightly but isn't a great fit and I have to remove it for conversation, I'm wondering if there might be something that can help to reduce the internal sounds I hear and improve the clarity of external sounds ?! I also have a family history of deafness, not among siblings but both my mum and aunt, my gran and 8 great aunts/uncles suffered varying levels of deafness, all had to wear external hearing aids.

My father has been totally deaf in one ear for most of his adult life, his good ear has been gradually deteriorating over the years. will it continue to deteriorate and will he require a hearing aid eventually in that ear

How do you cope with hearing loss?

I am only in my mid 40s but now need two hearing aids. It is only the pitch/frequency (sorry not sure which is the right word) for conversation. I can hear everything else: babies crying, lawnmowers several streets away, motorbikes even though I am well off the main road. But I can't hear conversation!
As I get older is it likely that I will lose other types of noises or will I just lose even more of the conversation around me, or lose everything?
Thank you very much.

My hearing has steadily worsened over the past couple of years - having to turn up the tv volume and constantly asking people to repeat themselves. It is driving me mad along with the rest of the family ! I am only 47 so I am in denial that I may be going deaf. Should I just bite the bullet and visit my GP , do doctors carry out routine hearing tests? I need to do something and soon , smiling and nodding at people because I have already asked them to repeat themselves and still didn't catch what they said is making me look like a simpleton !

if you think there are problems should you see the GP or book an appointment at an opticians? Which is better?

my parents have some hearing loss and so do my grand parents, can you tell me if its hereditary or not?

thanks