Help for Hearing Impairment

GillM

Does anyone on the forum have much experience with Text Relay? I struggle with the phone (hearing aids no use to me) but as has been mentioned previously, some organisations insist on phone contact rather than email. I'm a bit put off by the cost of equipment (but wouldn't qualify for financial help). Is it worth the cost?

Thanks

Savvy_Sue

Mum uses it, a lot now Dad has died. The only problem is that I don't seem able to phone her on it: don't know if she presses the wrong button, or picks up the wrong phone (she has multiple phones, and there's one handset she can just about sort of hear on!) or what happens! We keep meaning to try it while I'm there, and failing. If I can see what's going on we might work out what she actually needs to do.

You can set it to give a message telling you to redial putting the TR code in front, which I thought I'd set but maybe not, or maybe Mum's switched that off. And having said that, the message is very brief - literally something like "Redial using xxxx" and no explanation that you put that before the phone number you want and wait for an operator.

However if you're mostly dialling out using it, it's fab.

Discogod

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Reading about the upgrade coconuts got, I got my aid out and with two pairs of reading glasses on I discovered it is a Siemens Prisma Pro 2. On searching I found this: which no-one seems to have answered.

Well, that last aid i had was a while back - in July i got some new ones - Oticon Spirit Zest. I feel they are an improvement but my problem is, i am trying to push the aids to be the best they can... but unfortunately they can't match up to what i want (which is what we all want, perfect hearing...)

Sure, perfect hearing seems an impossible task & i doubt they'll get aids that can get me near there in my lifetime. I struggle with background noise, i struggle to hear people when they aren't talking directly to me (even when they are i often get about 70%-80% of their words & try to work out the rest....)

Anyway, i digressed a bit. I've not been totally happy with these new aids, yes an improvement, but i still demand more. I've been back to the Audiology dept twice now & they have just booked me another appt before Xmas. The audiologist told me that they've just signed a new contract for some upgraded aids. These have fallen in price so departments should be able to offer more. The plan is, in 3 months i'll be able to go back & get the upgrade to some aids with bluetooth capabilities. Sure, this won't solve my group situation problems but it would give me tons of joy with better hearing for music/tv/phone.

I was told that For instance, to have Oticon aids with bluetooth - i'd also need an oticon streamer (like this here: http://www.keephearing.co.uk/p/999760/oticon-streamer.html) So, i'd have to have that box nearby whenever i use it. Not how i imagined it to work originally - i thought the aid could pair to a mobile with bluetooth without having to go through an intermeditary? I think i'd have to pay for the 'streamer' myself but possibly a price worth paying (and should be cheaper than on the link). Anyone got any advice on bluetooth aid options & how it works? How does it connect to the tv? Does it go through audio out jack on the tv? If so, does that mean others can't hear the tv?

Need to look into this a bit more...

I'm also about to sign up for some lip-reading classes. I'm pretty determined to increase my LR skills to the extent where it will benefit me in noisy situations. Seeing the drama 'The Silence' inspired me to make this move. It would be amazing to be less reliant on my ears.

PS, can anyone recommend an online community (forum/message board) for deaf people in the UK? I really do love this thread - i dont know anyone in my situation & it's great to be able to connect to others in the same kind of boat as me.

Errata

Discogod- this deaf forum looks fairly busy http://www.deaf4life.co.uk/

rosieben

I joined a forum for the deaf some years ago and was horrified to see posters really haranguing a mother who'd let her child have a cochlear implant - they said she'd 'taken away her daughter's right to be deaf' :eek:

I didn't go back

but I'd be interested too, if anyone has suggestions please

Hear-Hear

GillM wrote: "I struggle with the phone (hearing aids no use to me)".
That doesn't make sense to me. If you struggle on the phone, most modern digital hearing aids have an automatic telephone function that works really well. The only folk that it can't help are those with profound hearing loss (ie. below 95 dBHL) or total hearing loss.

"Does anyone on the forum have much experience with Text Relay? ...... I'm a bit put off by the cost of equipment (but wouldn't qualify for financial help). Is it worth the cost?"
Yes, a couple of members of my family (profound loss) use Text Relay. Fantastic system. You should not have to pay for it. Your local sensory impairment team may be willing to provide the equipment to you. If you need it, there is no cost and it is not means-tested.

Savvy_Sue wrote: "The only problem is that I don't seem able to phone her on it".
Sue, I'm sure we 'chatted' about this before, so forgive me if this is a re-hash. Do you know the need to dial the 18001 ad 18002 pre-fixes (as well as the full STD code) so that the call can be routed via the Type Talk / Text Relay team ? Personally, I always remember the outgoing prefix, since that is made via the equipment anyway, but I often forget the inbound prefix when dialling home from an ordinary phone somewhere else.

Discogod wrote: "they can't match up to what i want" and "but i still demand more"
The NHS-supplied aids are really very good now, but if you want more than they have available from the 'NHS Catalogue', you will need to consider purchasing privately.

"The audiologist told me that they've just signed a new contract for some upgraded aids".
The new 'NHS Catalogue' was launched nationally eight weeks ago on 01 August 2010. There was no signing up locally, as that was done at national level several weeks before the actual launch date. Bluetooth-compatible aids are available NOW on the NHS (eg. Siemens Impact and a similar Oticon model) and have been since 01-08-2010.

"So, i'd have to have that box nearby whenever i use it. Not how i imagined it to work originally - i thought the aid could pair to a mobile with bluetooth without having to go through an intermeditary?"
The aids themselves don't "pair" directly with your mobile phone. Your pair them with a central unit (eg. Siemens use a unit called "Tek", Phonak uses "iCom", etc). Your then "pair" the central unit with your mobile phone, TV, mp3 player, etc, etc. You can also hard-wire your mp3 player into the central unit, thus turning your hearing aids into a pair of high-quality headphones !!

"Does it go through audio out jack on the tv? If so, does that mean others can't hear the tv?"
You will indeed mute the TV if you use a standard jack, so you need to ensure that you have a SCART socket on your TV. In that way, the normal TV output is not affected, and you then have personal control of your own volume via the central control unit.

"I think i'd have to pay for the 'streamer' myself but possibly a price worth paying"
The NHS will not supply the central control unit to you, so you need to purchase that privately from a supplier or directly from the manufacturer. You then need to take the unit to your audiology dept to have this programmed to recognise your specific hearing aids. NB. This is new technology to the NHS, so before you purchase, check with them that are ABLE and WILLING to do this for you. They must also activate the bluetooth settings on both of your aids. Again, check with your Audiology Dept that they have have TRAINED to programme the Bluetooth elements of the Aids correctly, and that they have the TIME to actually do it for you. It will be a big waste of money otherwise, as private audiologists are not permitted to interfere with NHS-supplied hearing aids in any way. For those who purchase their aids privately, the audiologist will supply, configure the unit, and activate the aids all in the one session. You will probably find that they will pop the correct SCART and Jack leads into the right places for you - it's easy when you know how :shhh:!.

Hope this helps.

Errata

rosieben - what you experienced isn't that uncommon, but perhaps will become less so. My local 'deaf club' is not very welcoming to people who've become deafened, the majority of the members have been profoundly deaf.

Hear-Hear - thanks for your wise and knowlegeable comments.

I have a question - Does anyone have any info on Phonak Audeo YES aids?

Savvy_Sue

Discogod wrote: »

I'm also about to sign up for some lip-reading classes. I'm pretty determined to increase my LR skills to the extent where it will benefit me in noisy situations. Seeing the drama 'The Silence' inspired me to make this move. It would be amazing to be less reliant on my ears.

LR is a help, but more with the support for coping with the difficult situations, IMO. Our LR teacher says that it's only possible to LR with certainty about 30% of speech: we get the rest from context and other clues, eg 'married' and 'buried' look the same, so you work on whether the person looks happy or sad when they say it ...

I'm not saying that to put you off, just to ensure that you're not expecting LR to be the complete answer: it isn't, any more than hearing aids are!

Hear-Hear wrote: »

GillM wrote: "I struggle with the phone (hearing aids no use to me)".
That doesn't make sense to me. If you struggle on the phone, most modern digital hearing aids have an automatic telephone function that works really well. The only folk that it can't help are those with profound hearing loss (ie. below 95 dBHL) or total hearing loss.

We have an Occupational Therapist in our lipreading class, he showed us a gadget in one of the catalogues which can be used to change both volume and tone on the phone it's attached to. He says that's very good, can't remember what it's called.

Hoping I might get one of these automatic changing settings on my next hearing aid (appointment Friday) but we'll have to see ...

Hear-Hear wrote: »

Savvy_Sue wrote: "The only problem is that I don't seem able to phone her on it".
Sue, I'm sure we 'chatted' about this before, so forgive me if this is a re-hash. Do you know the need to dial the 18001 ad 18002 pre-fixes (as well as the full STD code) so that the call can be routed via the Type Talk / Text Relay team ? Personally, I always remember the outgoing prefix, since that is made via the equipment anyway, but I often forget the inbound prefix when dialling home from an ordinary phone somewhere else.

No, I'm using the prefix when I call her, but either I don't get through to the Text Relay team, or they can't get through to her: it seems to vary. We may manage to have a play this Thursday as I'm going to see her again.

GillM

Thanks for the various responses. I've tried hearing aids (NHS digital - Seimens, I think - for both ears) but they amplify too much. I don't particularly want to hear my microwave pipping or other people's mobile phones ringing, I just want speech clarifying. I have 100% loss of high range hearing and am also losing mid range hearing but at my last hearing test (some years ago now) my low range hearing was normal. Yes, I probably could try using my hearing aids on the T setting for the phone but as I don't wear them normally I'd find them awkward. All my phone handsets have volume control which helps a bit but not tone control. I know I should really go back and have my ears tested again but it always depresses me.

I've had some equipment from Social Services - doorbell, smoke alarm - but I know they don't supply telephonic equipment and I'm a bit reluctant to spend the £2-300 on a textphone unless I'm really sure it will be of use to me.

Savvy_Sue

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Hoping I might get one of these automatic changing settings on my next hearing aid (appointment Friday) but we'll have to see ...

Thought I would update - no such luck is the answer!

I had my hearing tested, and there's been very little change: the right ear has deteriorated slightly, but as it started as near-as-damnit-perfect I don't need an aid there. The left ear has also deteriorated slightly, but still not too bad.

I tried asking about an aid where the settings would change automatically if I used the phone, and she said no, that was only on the much stronger hearing aids which weren't appropriate for me.

Then she had a fiddle with the settings, and gave me a new earpiece to try - still an off-the-shelf one, but this has a larger double 'plug' at the end. She also gave me a replacement of the one I'd had before, and said to try both and see how I got on.

I think the dome one might suit me better in meetings or noisy situations where it's the background noise or people talking too quietly and not directly to me which stops me hearing, but still unsure. However, we weren't in a soundproof room and there was a LOT of noise outside so it was very difficult to tell whether I liked what she was doing or not. And when I got home I found I didn't: too loud (even on the lowest volume) and a lot of background whistling from the TV. So I tried the other earpiece and that was even worse.

Before I could get up to Audiology for that I got a very heavy cold / sore throat / cough / hurty ears which meant that for a week I didn't care whether I could hear or not, and no foreign objects were going in my ear! Once I'd recovered, I tried a bit more but concluded that the aid needed adjusting.

So, back for a bit more fiddling, this time with a trainee in the room, and from a comment made to her it was confirmed that I don't have a very modern aid ("We do still see a few of these"). And on this occasion I was told that the aid should be set up differently for the two different kinds of earpiece, otherwise I would get whistling on the smaller one. Great.

It's better, but still some whistling. I'm going to try it out at church tomorrow, and again at work on Monday morning when we have a team meeting at which I can't always hear properly.

But I might be going back to the smaller earpiece: the larger one isn't as comfortable and still gives me that 'blocked' feeling which I used to hate with a 'proper' earmould. It's as if my ear sucks it in further after I've inserted it, and forms a vacuum which I just HAVE to release! Cue constant fiddling with my ear ...