Landlubber Hearing Aids

[Thistle]

I've just got a pair of hearing aids. They are colour-coded to show which ear they go in. My audiologist couldn't understand why I wanted them colour-coded red-port and green-starboard instead of red-right and blue-left. Ships lights have been around a lot longer than hearing aids. Yet another case of modern technology getting it wrong.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Never thought about it, but you're dead right! Mine are coded just the same. However, I never look at the colour - it would be impossible to put them in the wrong ear, and they only fit in the charger one way round.

Modern ones are great - Bluetooth enabled so I don't need headphones!

 

[westhinder]

I've just got a pair of hearing aids. They are colour-coded to show which ear they go in. My audiologist couldn't understand why I wanted them colour-coded red-port and green-starboard instead of red-right and blue-left. Ships lights have been around a lot longer than hearing aids. Yet another case of modern technology getting it wrong.

I made the same remark and was met by a blank stare ?

 

[FairweatherDave]

Thread drift warning......mine are also colour-coded the same, red right......but I need to be able to find my glasses to see the dot (which takes longer). However to those of you lured to this thread.....I should be getting new hearing aids shortly, mine are from 2018 which I still regard as modern. My question is Has anyone gone private and been blown away by the improvement in quality? I know that technically private ones have more settings but my audiologist has not pushed going private. Essentially as long as your ear canals are clear of wax and the aids are tuned to your hearing loss then the NHS ones are pretty much as good. Does anyone want to challenge that based on their experience? At the moment I am very frustrated with my hearing loss and maybe new hearing aids from the NHS will be enough, but I continually have to bat away the question "Why don't you go private?" . (My own prejudice is pro NHS and trusting my audiologist and I instinctively think that people who have paid a small fortune for hearing aids will inevitably want to say how great they are.......once I join that camp I too would feel that pressure).
(My hearing loss is mild to moderate and hearing aids hook over the top of the ear withe a tube into the canal).
Cheers for any replies (if you can hear them

 

[Sandydog2]

Thread drift warning......mine are also colour-coded the same, red right......but I need to be able to find my glasses to see the dot (which takes longer). However to those of you lured to this thread.....I should be getting new hearing aids shortly, mine are from 2018 which I still regard as modern. My question is Has anyone gone private and been blown away by the improvement in quality? I know that technically private ones have more settings but my audiologist has not pushed going private. Essentially as long as your ear canals are clear of wax and the aids are tuned to your hearing loss then the NHS ones are pretty much as good. Does anyone want to challenge that based on their experience? At the moment I am very frustrated with my hearing loss and maybe new hearing aids from the NHS will be enough, but I continually have to bat away the question "Why don't you go private?" . (My own prejudice is pro NHS and trusting my audiologist and I instinctively think that people who have paid a small fortune for hearing aids will inevitably want to say how great they are.......once I join that camp I too would feel that pressure).
(My hearing loss is mild to moderate and hearing aids hook over the top of the ear withe a tube into the canal).
Cheers for any replies (if you can hear them

Not an answer to your question, exactly, but the latest NHS aids are a huge improvement on the ones issued 4 or 5 years ago. They have bluetooth, and you can download an app to control them from a smartphone. The aids come tuned with 4 basic profiles customised for your lifestyle. You can use the app to create as many more profiles as you like. It gives you control of pitch, volume, noise reduction, and listening angle. The wind noise reduction is a huge improvement. So is being able to tune then without fiddling with them. Then there is the supply of free batteries and microphones, plus the much lower replacement cost if one is lost to consider. What they don't do (without purchasing an extra gadget) is bluetooth sound straight from a phone or TV to the aids. They do have hearing loop available without any add ons. So if your 2018 models don't do any of that then it is worth considering new NHS ones before you decide to go private.

 

[FairweatherDave]

Indeed Sandydog2, you haven't answered my question but you have told me very reassuring details about the NHS new ones which backs up my view that I stick with the NHS. I've always been impressed with their service given the pressure the NHS is under. The people who tell me I should go private are just those who are frustrated when I don't hear what they say and seem to think hearing heads give you perfect hearing. They are never people who use hearing aids. Thanks for replying SD!

 

[SaltyC]

Not an answer to your question, exactly, but the latest NHS aids are a huge improvement on the ones issued 4 or 5 years ago. They have bluetooth, and you can download an app to control them from a smartphone. The aids come tuned with 4 basic profiles customised for your lifestyle. You can use the app to create as many more profiles as you like. It gives you control of pitch, volume, noise reduction, and listening angle. The wind noise reduction is a huge improvement. So is being able to tune then without fiddling with them. Then there is the supply of free batteries and microphones, plus the much lower replacement cost if one is lost to consider. What they don't do (without purchasing an extra gadget) is bluetooth sound straight from a phone or TV to the aids. They do have hearing loop available without any add ons. So if your 2018 models don't do any of that then it is worth considering new NHS ones before you decide to go private.

OK, think I need to revisit my 10 + year old NHS hearing aid. Never use it as it makes no discernible difference.

 

[FairweatherDave]

Yes, to be clear....I think my NHS hearing aids do make a huge difference. But it is still the stuff you don't hear that is really annoying, (for everybody).

 

[Sandydog2]

Indeed Sandydog2, you haven't answered my question but you have told me very reassuring details about the NHS new ones which backs up my view that I stick with the NHS. I've always been impressed with their service given the pressure the NHS is under. The people who tell me I should go private are just those who are frustrated when I don't hear what they say and seem to think hearing heads give you perfect hearing. They are never people who use hearing aids. Thanks for replying SD!

They were amazing in the time and care they took to perfect the profiles. The tuning session even began with them saying "it says in your notes you are a sailor, so we've put a programme on for outdoors". They do have a bit of a backlog at the moment so it did take a while from referral to fitting, but they are catching up. Private would be quicker I'm sure.

They have other functions I haven't got to grips with yet - associating a sound profile with a location, for instance, so that it changes to it when your phone GPS says you have returned to it.

They aren't rechargeable but the batteries last about 12 days.

You should end up with almost perfect hearing, plus the advantage of being able to alter it. We made a setting for noisy pubs for instance, which focuses on the person sitting opposite you. If a really noisy group arrive you can just turn that side down. Also one we jokingly call "pub quiz" mode which listens in to a wide area.

Still labelled in red and blue though ! ( thank goodness, as red and green comes out as beige and beige with impaired colour vision).

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Mine are private, but that's because I can hear pretty well without them; I wouldn't qualify for NHS ones. I need them because I am often in situations with a lot of background chatter, and can't distinguish the person I'm speaking to's voice from others. I'm fine in a quiet room with a single speaker, but as soon as there's more than one person speaking I struggle. As far as I can see, the differences in hearing aids are twofold - one is the number of frequency points that can be set to create a profile; the more, the closer it will get to boosting your hearing at the right frequencies to compensate for your hearing loss. The other is ancillary things like Bluetooth - mine have it, and it's fantastic!

One thing that surprised me a bit was that you start to hear your voice through the air rather than through the skull; I find that it's a great help when singing, as I can hear the pitch I'm hitting rather than the pitch I think I'm hitting! It has the same effect as the old trick of putting a hand to your ear. This doesn't mean I can sing particularly well, but it does mean that I can sing more to my own satisfaction (if no-one else!)

 

[mjcoon]

One thing that surprised me a bit was that you start to hear your voice through the air rather than through the skull; I find that it's a great help when singing, as I can hear the pitch I'm hitting rather than the pitch I think I'm hitting! It has the same effect as the old trick of putting a hand to your ear. This doesn't mean I can sing particularly well, but it does mean that I can sing more to my own satisfaction (if no-one else!)

That does sound like a setting profile attribute you are more likely to get by going private!

 

[LittleSister]

I have Phonak ones that I got free via the NHS. Amazing sound quality and clever, very practical design.

They are exactly the same one's I'd get from a private supplier (my ex bought the same for her dad privately), except there I would have had the option of paying extra for de luxe models with bluetooth and various other gadgetry which mine don't have.

I got them a few years ago, free, together with a really helpful, informative and interesting fitting session, and get a free annual supply of batteries and spare tubes/earpieces. The first pair were replaced free when after a number of years first one and then, very shortly after, the other suddenly started getting through batteries in less than an hour. I did have to pay about £100 for replacements when I once lost them.

I suspect the make and model (and quality of service) you get from the NHS will vary across different areas.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Just to make a point I mentioned in my earlier post - The NHS doesn't offer hearing aids until there is substantial loss of hearing. I wouldn't qualify for them - but my hearing is well below normal levels, especially at higher frequencies. I benefit from a hearing aid by getting better discrimination in a noisy setting; it makes my social life much more enjoyable as I don't have to sit in a noisy restaurant or whatever unable to tell what people are saying because I can't pick their voice out against the background noise. In a quiet room, it doesn't make much difference, but in a setting where more than one person is talking - for example, in a meeting - I can't distinguish speakers. I chose to get hearing aids because I was beginning to be affected by issues like that, and chose fairly high-end ones so that I could get the best possible experience.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I am shortly to go to the audiologist and then hence to buy a pair I know I am borderline but I suffer the same problem as Antarctic Pilot when there is a lot of background noise or several people speaking I find it very difficult to isolate one person. I will see what's on offer preferably ones that are to all intents and purposes invisible would suit.

 

[mjcoon]

I am shortly to go to the audiologist and then hence to buy a pair I know I am borderline but I suffer the same problem as Antarctic Pilot when there is a lot of background noise or several people speaking I find it very difficult to isolate one person. I will see what's on offer preferably ones that are to all intents and purposes invisible would suit.

Yes, I suppose if the aids are obvious you will have to suffer people shouting at you too...

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Yes, I suppose if the aids are obvious you will have to suffer people shouting at you too...

Pure vanity I am afraid

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I am shortly to go to the audiologist and then hence to buy a pair I know I am borderline but I suffer the same problem as Antarctic Pilot when there is a lot of background noise or several people speaking I find it very difficult to isolate one person. I will see what's on offer preferably ones that are to all intents and purposes invisible would suit.

Mine are these Phonak Audéo™ Paradise hearing aid - the electronics fit behind the ear with only a near-invisible electrical connection to the speaker in the ear. The bit in the ear fits entirely within the ear canal. They are rechargeable. Unless I tell them, most people don't realize I'm wearing them.

 

[Wansworth]

Wife in process of fine tuning her aids over a period of several weeks and visit to shop she is annoyed ata kind of back ground buzz……….she all so wants me to be tested

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Wife in process of fine tuning her aids over a period of several weeks and visit to shop she is annoyed ata kind of back ground buzz……….she all so wants me to be tested

Just be careful she doesn't take you to the vets and not the audiologist.

 

[Wansworth]

I am bigger than her?