Help for Hearing Impairment

Hear-Hear

hethmar

It's a bit like asking how much does a mobile phone cost or how much does a TV cost. It all depends on what you need and what you want. That's where the advice of a reputable qualified audiologist comes in.


As a rough guide

1. £500.00 - £750.00 = a pair of basic hearing aids, but these would be very much entry-level, and only really suitable for straightforward hearing losses for quiet conversations and TV.
2. £1000.00 - £1500.00 = a decent mid-range pair, equivalent to what the NHS currently supplies
3. £1700.00 - £2000.00 = top of range, latest state of the art, all functioning, fully automatic, but only really needed by those with the most demanding lifestyles.

Do not pay more than £2000.00 - ever - for a top of range pair.

toscat

Hi Hear-Hear. You replied to my post on waiting 12 months for a hearing aid to get fitted and said you would be interested in which pct I went to. I did post which hospital I went to and would be interested in your thoughts on the waiting time for that hospital. Have I been given the wrong information or have I been lost in the system ? I'm now into my 73rd year and would hope to have a few years left being able to understand what everyone around me are saying without embarrassing both them and myself. To be honest I've taken too long to ask for help from the doctor because I convinced myself I didn't have a problem and also I thought buying a hearing aid would be beyond my reach. It was only when a friend said to me I'd worked from the age of 15(still working)And had paid N.I all those years that I would get one free that I took courage and spoke to the doctor. thanks for your help.

Hear-Hear

Hello toscat

Digitalisation came to the NHS around 2003, and this was probably the main factor in an ever-rising waiting list for audiology which peaked in around 2007. After 2007, waiting lists started to fall again quite quickly, by using overtime, reducing the time given when fitting hearing aids (to as little as 15 minutes in some cases), and by reducing or removing the follow-up / fine tuning appointments. This was driven by the 18-week and 6-week NHS targets. The lists started rising again last year in view of ever-increasing demand, and on-going reductions in NHS fundings.

In your own case, the Victoria Hospital in Blackpool (I assume this covers Fleetwood?) had the second-longest waiting lists in the UK in 2007 - 117 weeks from first referral to fitting appointment, and 260 weeks (yes, that's 5 years :shocked: ) for upgrade to digital for existing analogue users. They have clearly made advances in getting the list down to 12 months in your area, and the offer of Saturday appointments suggests that they are using overtime in their battle to satisfy demand.

Convincing oneself that there isn't / wasn't a problem is the most common form of dealing with hearing loss. Hearing loss is simply a natural process, but too many people see it as something more sinister. There are 9,000,000 people in the UK with aidable hearing loss, yet only 2,000,000 actually do anything about it, leaving 7,000,000 still convincing themselves that they do not have a problem :wall: ...... well, 6,999,999 if we exclude your goodself :j !....... and another 7,000,000 wives/husbands/partners/children just wishing that their 'best friend' would just go along and get it checked out. It costs nothing to have it done, whether you go to the Hospital or get it done privately on the High St.

toscat

Thanks for that Hear-Hear, I'm guessing you work in the NHS to have all that knowledge and statistics at your fingertips. I'm really grateful to you for your help.Your right I've always been sent to the Victoria for various operations and tests and it does cover Fleetwood,But when the appointments place got in touch they asked me if I would prefer Fleetwood hospital as I would get an appointment quicker and i jumped at the offer but I didn't realise the fitting of the hearing aid would take so long, maybe it would be even longer at the Victoria so I'm probably lucky.By the way I had a laugh at reducing the 7,000,000 by one. Thanks again.

Guardsman

toscat wrote: »

Thanks for that Hear-Hear, I'm guessing you work in the NHS to have all that knowledge and statistics at your fingertips..

No he does not or you would be waiting weeks for a reply if he did,:D

Savvy_Sue

Hear-Hear wrote: »

Convincing oneself that there isn't / wasn't a problem is the most common form of dealing with hearing loss. Hearing loss is simply a natural process, but too many people see it as something more sinister.

Of course, it's worth saying that occasionally, very very occasionally, it IS something more sinister, which makes it even more important to get it checked out sooner rather than later!

I realise that some of you will already be thinking "I'm going deaf, I must have a brain tumour", or know that that's the way your loved one's mind works, but surely for some peace of mind it's worth getting checked out?

And hopefully Hear-Hear will remind us all about auditory nerve deprivation or whatever it's called: what it boils done to is that once you have hearing aids, you really need to persevere with wearing them, partly because they're no good in the drawer, but also because it's a 'use it or lose it' situation!

Hear-Hear

toscat

Your guess was "not right" (as Roy Walker used to say on Catchphrase, now repeated ad nauseum on one of the Freeview channels). I'm in the private sector, but always try to keep up to speed on what my biggest 'competitor' is doing. The NHS fitted 900,000+ hearing aids last year; the private sector as a whole fitted 200,000+. There are some fantastic people working in NHS audiology departments around the country, but they just aren't given the freedom to choose the most suitable hearing instruments based on the individual's needs, and they're not given the time to ensure complete rehabilition to hearing properly once again. Big changes about to happen, though, and not before time too. Roll on the Voucher system, just like Optics.

I don't know the area particularly well, but I guess Fleetwood Hospital is provided with audiology services by the Victoria in Blackpool. It's fairly common practice. Anyway, go for the Saturday appointment if it means you get your hearing aids more quickly.


Guardsman. It would be a shame to tarnish each of individuals within the NHS with the same brush. There are some really clever and experienced NHS professionals around the country, but a pure generalisation, your comment made me laugh out loud indeed.

Savvy_Sue. Truly excellent advice, as usual.

GlasweJen

Hear hear, can I ask a quick question?

I'm not touching Boots with a big stick after an awful experience in the past when they wouldn't perform a full hearing test on me. I've been diagnosed with hearing loss but the NHS are dragging their feet giving me aids because I have a cardiac pacemaker (fitted on my left side). Do you think that I would get a quicker result going private? If so can you recommend a company? Is it best to go independant or should I stick to boots/specsavers?

Hear-Hear

GlasweJen

You will almost always get a quicker result going private. That's one of many reasons why people choose this option.

Can I recommend a company ? Never could I do that. It is the professionalism, knowledge, and experience of the audiologist that matters, rather than the company they work for. Just as there are some truly excellent NHS audiology teams and some frankly appalling NHS audiology teams, so there are some wonderful individuals and some should-be-shot individuals within the private sector. You have had one bad experience. You should always approach two or three private audiologists (a second opinion or two, if you like) to compare the standards and the way you are treated by the audiologist. Oh, and the prices of course !

It sounds a bit of a hassle on the face of it, but you need to bear in mind that the person you select will be responsible for your hearing health for at least the next 5 years. You will almost certainly have more regular contact with your audiologist during that period than with any other medical or paramedical advisor.

Your options, then, are to pick from two of the following:-

1. try a different branch of Boots
2. try a convenient Specsavers branch, as you suggest
3. try a reputable Independent audiologist, that has a bricks-and-mortar presence, again reasonably convenient to you

addendum

Guardsman wrote: »

When I ask any questions they seem surprised It's like they are not used to people asking questions.
When I went there Wed the audiologist was not sure what could or could not be programmed all she said was that everything is done automatically and that's how everybody's is setup.
The reason I asked if the Oticon Zest has a commercial equivalent was that I could have some idea of it's capabilities or at least it's limitations.

Hi Guardsman,
recently I asked the Oticon NHS contact person for the technical specifications of the Spirit Zest HA, and promptly I got the answer with a datasheet as a pdf-file. I can share it with you if you want.
Kind regards.