[Technology] Hearing aids

[Thunder Bolt]

My mother has had hearing aids for years, and has always been told by the NHS audiologists (who are very good at Airedale, Keighley, so not a lot of help to you) that NHS hearing aids (free of charge) are just the same as private aids but a few years older technology. Which makes no noticeable difference because there hasn't been any major leaps forward in the last few years.

Of course, they aren't in-ear.

My husband has genetic hearing loss, and has NHS hearing aids. They are digital and work extremely well.
If you want to fork out hundreds of pounds on hearing aids, that’s up to you, but give the NHS ones a try first.

 

[fisons]

Do you have the RIC ones with the transmitter in the ear connected by wire to the receiver behind the ear? How many channels, if you know?

Yes. That is what I have. The brand is PHONAK.

Most people never notice that I am wearing them and both the receiver behind the ear and the wire connecting them to the transmitter are very discreet. I am afraid I don't know how many channels I have.

 

[bhafc99]

But how do you get GOSBTS to play on it?

 

[dannyboy]

Had a hearing test today funnily enough. Told my problem, which is a bit rarer, is to do with the pressure in the Eustachian tube as opposed to the bits further in. Nasal spray first from the doc to try and clear these tubes. if that doesnt work then its (Wallace and...) Grommets and if that doesnt work its hearing aids . im only 51!! Really hoping it doesnt come to that just yet.

 

[Worried Man Blues]

Had a hearing test a couple of weeks ago, loss of hearinng and tinnitus ( I blame ELP) . Graph showed loss of high range hearing in both but markedly worse in right ear. They suggested I could try a couple of hearing aids to see what I thought of them before buying, cost £750 to £2.5K !! I decided I'm ok can't hear the wife too well............. strangely she got me to go then said I didn't need hearing aids yet. Main problem is hearing in a group but at least I now know it's not just me not paying attention, although I am sure that doesn't help. Will see how I go now I know I need to pay more attention.

 

[happypig]

I have had in the ear hearing aids for the last few years due to early onset hearing loss caused by too much live music between the ages of 15 and 30 (never gave the post-gig ringing ears a second thought but it was slowly damaging my hearing).
Mine are NHS issue Phonak which are free (free batteries too) and have open domes rather than in-ear moulds, although I might need to move on to moulds if it deteriorates further. Open domes means they don't plug the ear canal completely so you can also hear "around" them if that makes sense.
The audiologist tunes them to your frequency profile.
They make a difference but I still cannot hear in a loud environment, for example in a pub with music playing I struggle to hear what other people are saying because I cannot pick out thier voice above the background noise.

 

[Seagull58]

But how do you get GOSBTS to play on it?

Very easily, in fact. I just play it on my phone and it transmits straight to my hearing aids so I can hear it in all its glory in private

 

[Seagull58]

Had a hearing test a couple of weeks ago, loss of hearinng and tinnitus ( I blame ELP) . Graph showed loss of high range hearing in both but markedly worse in right ear. They suggested I could try a couple of hearing aids to see what I thought of them before buying, cost £750 to £2.5K !! I decided I'm ok can't hear the wife too well............. strangely she got me to go then said I didn't need hearing aids yet. Main problem is hearing in a group but at least I now know it's not just me not paying attention, although I am sure that doesn't help. Will see how I go now I know I need to pay more attention.

Very similar to me; high frequencies and right ear considerably worse. Great difficulty when talking/listening with background noise and also some TV programmes. No tinnitus though.

 

[Fat Boy Fat]

My husband has genetic hearing loss, and has NHS hearing aids. They are digital and work extremely well.
If you want to fork out hundreds of pounds on hearing aids, that’s up to you, but give the NHS ones a try first.

I have been very grateful for my "free" NHS over the ear aids, but they have been a right pain when wearing a mask - however, a small cross to bear!

 

[Seagull58]

I have had in the ear hearing aids for the last few years due to early onset hearing loss caused by too much live music between the ages of 15 and 30 (never gave the post-gig ringing ears a second thought but it was slowly damaging my hearing).
Mine are NHS issue Phonak which are free (free batteries too) and have open domes rather than in-ear moulds, although I might need to move on to moulds if it deteriorates further. Open domes means they don't plug the ear canal completely so you can also hear "around" them if that makes sense.
The audiologist tunes them to your frequency profile.
They make a difference but I still cannot hear in a loud environment, for example in a pub with music playing I struggle to hear what other people are saying because I cannot pick out thier voice above the background noise.

Yeah, my main problem is also that I can't hear what people are saying if they're to my right, particularly in an environment with background noise but even when in a quiet room if they are speaking quietly.

 

[Worried Man Blues]

Very similar to me; high frequencies and right ear considerably worse. Great difficulty when talking/listening with background noise and also some TV programmes. No tinnitus though.

The odd thing is I have always listened to heavy rock music so surprised that the high frequency noises are affected. My Tinnitus is high notes ringing but seems to miss my music when listening on headphones, Tinnitus off to the left and music in the middle of my head........... strange.

 

[SAC]

I have been very grateful for my "free" NHS over the ear aids, but they have been a right pain when wearing a mask - however, a small cross to bear!

Me too, I thought that I had worked out a good system to take the mask off but I ended up losing one of mine. The NHS were brilliant and had one ready for collection the next day but I had to pay for it (£80, I think).

 

[Questions]

I love syringing my own ears. I have an old tomato ketchup bottle that is perfect for getting right in there. I can’t help but show the household the lumps in the sink when I’ve finished.

 

[Carlos BC]

I have some Phonak right in the ear things. They work quite well, came with a 5 year guarantee and I have had them sent back a few times and they were fixed free of charge.
To be fair, the sending back has been my fault. A couple of times I got water in them and I was over vigorous in my cleaning another time, all a learning curve as it is my first set.

So I guess I can get an NHS set as back up, is it a complicated process? Or do I just have to contact the GP and get a referral to an audiologist?

 

[theboybilly]

My mother has had hearing aids for years, and has always been told by the NHS audiologists (who are very good at Airedale, Keighley, so not a lot of help to you) that NHS hearing aids (free of charge) are just the same as private aids but a few years older technology. Which makes no noticeable difference because there hasn't been any major leaps forward in the last few years.

Of course, they aren't in-ear.

This is true. I spent £4k on aids about 5 years ago. State of the art they said. Trouble is you had to carry spare filters or domes because you never knew when either would become blocked. I real pain if you forgot to have spares on you. I gave up when I was told I should try the new all-singing, all-dancing ones for £8k. They were just trying to get more money out of me. So I went to Specsavers and got the ones I use now on the National Health.which are just as good if not better. If, in future I need an upgrade I will do so but I get by. Watching the TV is still a bit of a bugbear and I still get a lot of background noise in pubs etc. But you learn to live with it like all the other age-related aches and pains

 

[happypig]

So I guess I can get an NHS set as back up, is it a complicated process? Or do I just have to contact the GP and get a referral to an audiologist?

Yeah, GP first, he/she will refer you to audiology.

 

[Denis]

I have some Phonak right in the ear things. They work quite well, came with a 5 year guarantee and I have had them sent back a few times and they were fixed free of charge.
To be fair, the sending back has been my fault. A couple of times I got water in them and I was over vigorous in my cleaning another time, all a learning curve as it is my first set.

I too have the Phonak in the ear aids. At £3,200 for the pair, (Boots). I can’t say that I’m that impressed with them, but I’m vain and don’t want people to know I’m wearing them! Luckily being female, I wear my hair shoulder length. My ears have never produced so much wax! The wax guards have come off several times and have had to be repaired, luckily under guarantee.
It’s such a pain getting old! glasses, hearing aids, night cream, hiding * grey hair

 

[Superseagull]

Yes. They are smaller than AirPods but have had various problems with them which people have said is common to in the ear hearing aids.

Always wondered what Apple or Bose could come up with in terms of better design of hearing aids than the traditional medical suppliers. I bet the sound clarity & quality and functionality would be far better than what is currently available. There are a few apps out there that work by using a mobile phone microphone and Bluetooth to send crystal clear, tuned, amplified voice audio to earbuds. The processing power in a phone is immense these days and can do so much more audio wise than a traditional hearing aid.

Why traditional hearing aids still use those small throw away batteries is another mystery! Dread to think what that costs the NHS each year.

 

[Seagull58]

I have been to the audiologist today after the first week of the trial for him to do some tuning to try and improve the right ear. Unfortunately, when he tried to ramp up the right ear (my really bad one) the sound went all distorted and I could barely make out any words. So he wound it back down again and I now have the situation where I can hear ok with the left ear and can hear additional noises such as crowd noise on televised football when the hearing aid is on but I cant hear at all well through the right ear and do not notice any real improvement when the hearing aid is on. All rather disappointing, although he says it's an ongoing process and he can do more tuning Thursday next week. I have a first appointment with another supplier on Friday next week (whose hearing aids are half the price) so I reckon I will stop the trial on Thursday, start a trial with the other supplier on Friday and decide in 2 or 3 weeks what the cost/benefit picture looks like.
The main question I am struggling to answer is what sort of hearing clarity should I be getting in both ears when one ear is 15% worse than the other? Should I expect the bad ear to still be noticeably worse with programmable hearing aids or is it reasonable to expect the bad ear to be boosted sufficiently so I hear approximately the same through each ear?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I have been to the audiologist today after the first week of the trial for him to do some tuning to try and improve the right ear. Unfortunately, when he tried to ramp up the right ear (my really bad one) the sound went all distorted and I could barely make out any words. So he wound it back down again and I now have the situation where I can hear ok with the left ear and can hear additional noises such as crowd noise on televised football when the hearing aid is on but I cant hear at all well through the right ear and do not notice any real improvement when the hearing aid is on. All rather disappointing, although he says it's an ongoing process and he can do more tuning Thursday next week. I have a first appointment with another supplier on Friday next week (whose hearing aids are half the price) so I reckon I will stop the trial on Thursday, start a trial with the other supplier on Friday and decide in 2 or 3 weeks what the cost/benefit picture looks like.
The main question I am struggling to answer is what sort of hearing clarity should I be getting in both ears when one ear is 15% worse than the other? Should I expect the bad ear to still be noticeably worse with programmable hearing aids or is it reasonable to expect the bad ear to be boosted sufficiently so I hear approximately the same through each ear?

It takes time to train your brain not to listen through your good ear. It will happen gradually.
A friend of mine had a cochlear implant done, and has been having it adjusted gradually over six months.