Help for Hearing Impairment

sunnyone

I had my eyes tested today and when picking the reading glasses they say I now need I mentioned that I always choose lightweight/thin armed sunglasses so they dont knock my hearing aids and they tried to flog my rubbish aids that are no good to me for my hearing loss!

Dont go to specsavers if you only want glasses or they will give you a sales pitch for hearing aids when they didnt even notice your aids when testing your eyes or the 20-30 min I was looking at specs.

summerof0763

sunnyone wrote: »

I had my eyes tested today and when picking the reading glasses they say I now need I mentioned that I always choose lightweight/thin armed sunglasses so they dont knock my hearing aids and they tried to flog my rubbish aids that are no good to me for my hearing loss!

Dont go to specsavers if you only want glasses or they will give you a sales pitch for hearing aids when they didnt even notice your aids when testing your eyes or the 20-30 min I was looking at specs.

must confess,i only wear glasses for reading,and comp,and could probably do with a new pair,will make sure my hair covers my ears lol

sunnyone

summerof0763 wrote: »

must confess,i only wear glasses for reading,and comp,and could probably do with a new pair,will make sure my hair covers my ears lol

I have very short blonde hair and they didnt notice my aids, people dont even notice when I say Im deaf and wearing aids, most people think that NHS aids are in your face but theyre not and a very fair person with short blonde hair is the hardest person to "match" an aid to.

Im picking up my new glasses on Tuesday, I hope I dont get another sales pitch, the in canal aids they showed me were so obvious and not suitable for me, they assumed thats what I would want and I dont know why but I did cut off the pitch and they might have moved on to more suitable aids but what really got me was that they didnt ask about my level of hearing impairment.

In the one on one appointment level eye test I could lip read to suppliment my hearing and thats when my comunication is best, in the shop I asked to be left alone to choose a style of glasses because I know I would really struggle to communicate in there, I chose my specs then sat directly across a small desk while we finalised the order, I try to arrange things to help myself, not to hide my deafness but to make life easier.

Hear-Hear

summerof0763 wrote "ah are you an audiologist lol,your certainly a handy person to know"

Aye, there's a few people who say that !



summerof0763 wrote "do all nhs audiologist have acess to the G N RESOUND,SIEMENS,OTICON,or will it be dependant on where you live? should i ask for one of these named ones?"

In theory, they all have access to a massive range of makes/models as listed in the NHS Catalogue Audiology section, but in practice each PCT will tend to select a single manufacturer and alimited range of models from that manufacturer. This is because it gives the fitting technicians familiarity with that manufacturers software, rather than having to keep abreast of the different fitting programmes used by each individual manufacturer. There can also be a small cost saving by commiting to purchase certain quantities of aids over a year from a single supplier, as happens in any business.



sunnyone wrote "they tried to flog my rubbish aids that are no good to me for my hearing loss!"

That is surprising for a firm as big as Specsavers, as it is illegal to recommend hearing aids of any make or model privately without undergoing a hearing assessment with a qualified audiologist. Are you sure they weren't simply showing you what is available generally for people who want aids that don't interfere with the arms of your specs? If not, then you need to take it up with the Manager on your next visit.

spugzbunny

Hello Deafies!

I'm having a bit of a panic this morning. My hearing aid has ben quieter than usual recently - I thought following an adjustment on the feedback at the hearing aid clinic at the hospital. I went back yesterday to get it looked at and they couldn't find anything wrong with it's settings but they re-programmed it and turned it up for me. I called again today as it's still quiet and they've given me a clinician's appointment for today. I'm scared it's me and not the aid.

On a plus note - can't fault the NHS on this one - audiology appointment given within 2hrs of calling up and they were very sympathetic to my concern that it's me. I can hear my tinnitus even with the aid on which I normally wouldn't be able to and I can't hear my test noise at all - If I rub my fingers together, that noise is not there on my ear with hearing loss, even with the aid. I just hope it's not getting worse.

spugzbunny

just to update you....

The clinician plugged me in to the PC program that checks 'real ear benefit' or something like that (?) and said it was 'under receiving' as a result of changing the feedback settings and the dome. She reprogrammed it and adjusted the lines on the PC program so it picked up what it should be and then turned it up some more for me as well and also gave me a longer er... cable bit! I asked her if it was my hearing that was worsening and she didnt really answer - just said that if I notice it is quieter again then I should book an appointment for a hearing test and if my hearing suddenly worsened to go to A&E.

It is better now (louder and less muffled) but I've had to have my feedback set to moderate as strong seems to mute it too much. It does whistle a bit but I prefer to be able to hear properly! As always - excellent service from my NHS! I do love them so! They are always really quick and understanding which understand a lot of you do not get!

summerof0763

awh spugzbunny you back to the land of hearing again,funny i am waiting for audiologist to get back to me re hearing aids like you everything too quiet,i have only been waiting two weeks so far lol

matrix11001

GotNoRhythm wrote: »

Hi all,
Just a quick question (I hope!) - who does the cheapest hearing-aid batteries? Is it Boots and their 3 for 2 offers, or can anyone trump that?
Cheers!
GNR
x

Hearsavers I find are the best 99p for a pack of six batteries with they're battery club. Instead of the usual £3 or £4 batteries you get on the highstreet - the cost I think is extortionate!

I've been with them for a while now, bought some batteries and am still using from my first batch over a year later. They are great value for money, even taking in account P&P - they're worth every penny.

Not sure what the Care plan is all about, but sounds good added value if you can get it.

But to be honest the price of the batteries alone makes going with Hearsaver (I think they're attached to Matalan) worth every penny :T

summerof0763

hi all well finally got an app to see audiologist woo hoo,21st july must be the most overworked dept ever,so by time i get to see them again will be 7mths since all my bother started argh!!
would love one of them to go seven months without hearing properly,see how they cope.
still waiting on letter back re complaint about ot.

Hear-Hear

Hi matrix11001,

99p for a pack of hearing aid batteries looks like really good value. To put things in to context, here's what their competitors charge.

Boots (in shop):
£3.79 a pack. 3-for-2 offer makes it equivalent to £2.52 a pack.
Advantage Card points available.

Boots (online only):
Minimum purchase 10 packs at £24.00. Postage free. Equivalent to £2.40 a pack.

Specsavers (in shop):
£3.99 a pack. 2 for 1 offer makes it equivalent to £1.99 a pack.

Specsavers (online only):
Minimum purchase 10 packs at £9.99. Postage free. Equivalent to £0.99 a pack.

Hidden Hearing (in shop)::
£3.60 a pack.

Hidden Hearing (online only)::
Minimum purchase 10 packs at £30.00. Postage free. Equivalent to £3.00 a pack.

Most independent hearing aid centres (in shop)::
£2.50 to £4.00 a pack.

Quite a wide range of prices there.......

( :question: Surprising why the likes of Tesco, Wilkinsons, and Argos don't supply these things :question: ).