Help for Hearing Impairment

browniej

piglet4 wrote: »

Does the Siemens miniTek work with your CICs? If so, then ask your audiologist for a trial. It streams phone calls (and other audio as well) wirelessly to your aids.

I believe they are. However Specsavers want £399 as opposed to £99 for the ProPocket remote which is obviously just a remote.

black_paw

i have new ear moulds about yearly , they are super flexi , v.soft ones (clear) like sponge/ wobbly very comfortable , with stay dry tubes which are brill and last ages , but try to have changed every 6/8 months , NHS ones. aids are "nathos spw" (written in book )

piglet4

browniej wrote: »

I believe they are. However Specsavers want £399 as opposed to £99 for the ProPocket remote which is obviously just a remote.

£399! :eek:

Wonder why the Siemens is so expensive?

Hear-Hear

Piglet,

I'm not sure that Specsavers is any more expensve for accessories than anywhere else. The prices that browniej quoted are the Siemens standard Recommended Retail Prices:-

Siemens Pro Pocket Remote Control (non-bluetooth) = £99.00
Siemens TEK Remote Control (with bluetooth streamer) = £399.00

The price differential is the bluetooth technology and capability, and the various other items you get with your TEK kit, such as the Transmitter you attach to the TV to make it stream the audio signal. It's sometimes possible to find these items a bit cheaper online, but you then need to find an audiologist to pair the items with your hearing aids, which would effectively bring the total cost back up to the Recommended Retail Price.

piglet4

Hear-Hear wrote: »

Piglet,

I'm not sure that Specsavers is any more expensve for accessories than anywhere else. The prices that browniej quoted are the Siemens standard Recommended Retail Prices:-

Siemens Pro Pocket Remote Control (non-bluetooth) = £99.00
Siemens TEK Remote Control (with bluetooth streamer) = £399.00

The price differential is the bluetooth technology and capability, and the various other items you get with your TEK kit, such as the Transmitter you attach to the TV to make it stream the audio signal. It's sometimes possible to find these items a bit cheaper online, but you then need to find an audiologist to pair the items with your hearing aids, which would effectively bring the total cost back up to the Recommended Retail Price.

Thanks Hear-Hear. I was just surprised because my Oticon Streamer only cost £133, a third of the price of the Siemens Tek. I'm sure the Specsavers price for the Tek is reasonable though.

Having looked more closely, the main difference seems to be that Siemens includes a TV transmitter as standard, but with the Oticon system you buy the TV bit separately. I guess this would account for the big difference in price.

In spite of the price, I have to say that that if I had Siemens aids then I wouldn't hesitate to cough up the £399 for the Tek. It's just wonderful to be able to use the phone so easily--IMO the new generation of wireless streamers are a big leap on from telecoils

Tehya

Just thought I'd come back and say thanks for the advice regarding on my ENT appointment a few weeks ago. We've still not sorted out exactly what's going on health-wise I was told it was Meniere's Disease but now they've found something called a Chiari 1 Malformation (basically my brain-stem extends somewhat downwards into my neck squeezing my spinal column and apparently this can make you go deaf as well as have similar symptoms to Meniere's.

I have though, just today, been fitted with my hearing aids (I got two just as Hear-Hear said I would). The fitting was fine, I'm finding that my hearing is worse than I thought as I can hear all sorts now, the TV is down to volume 16 instead of 24 which is a massive improvement. The only downside is some noises are too much but I'm hoping that's just part of the 'getting used to wearing HAs' that my audiologist talked about.

The HAs I have are tiny - BTE Oticon Spirit Zest (open fit) so no moulds.

I was wondering if there's some trick to using them with a phone as I had to take my left aid out to use my phone earlier as it sounded way too quiet?

Oh another question or two what happens if you get caught in a rain shower, do you need to take them out and if so do you carry one of your HA boxes everywhere you go just in case?

She told me these were quite expensive but I can't find this model anywhere so just how expensive are they? I do know I have to pay I lose them, God forbid, but I wouldn't mind being forewarned?

Sorry for the questions again but you always think of things after the appointment. :cool: And well you're all so nice.

Thanks, Tehya

Hear-Hear

Tehya

Fantastic news that you were given both aids at first fitting, and what an immediate difference you have noticed. The other sounds will indeed take time to adjust to. Your audiologist seems to have spent plenty of time with you, explaining things.

Rain won't be a problem. They are water resistant, but not water proof, so avoid diving into the bath or shower with them, and no swimming in them. The problem is that open-fits are SO comfortable, you can forget they are in ! And take them out before visiting the hairdresser too, for exactly the same reason.

You won't find prices for the Oticon Zest anywhere, because it is made exclusively for the NHS. The net cost to the NHS per unit is around £120.00, but the charge for replacing them is usually free on the first occasion. Each PCT Trust sets their own policy in this regard, and if charged for a second loss, cost can be £75.00 to £125.00. This may change as PCT's are abolished, and an increasing number of NHS-funded aids start to be provided via the private sector.

Don't forget to scribble down any experiences or questions for your audiologist at your first review appointment.

piglet4

Tehya wrote: »

Just thought I'd come back and say thanks for the advice regarding on my ENT appointment a few weeks ago. We've still not sorted out exactly what's going on health-wise I was told it was Meniere's Disease but now they've found something called a Chiari 1 Malformation (basically my brain-stem extends somewhat downwards into my neck squeezing my spinal column and apparently this can make you go deaf as well as have similar symptoms to Meniere's.

I have though, just today, been fitted with my hearing aids (I got two just as Hear-Hear said I would). The fitting was fine, I'm finding that my hearing is worse than I thought as I can hear all sorts now, the TV is down to volume 16 instead of 24 which is a massive improvement. The only downside is some noises are too much but I'm hoping that's just part of the 'getting used to wearing HAs' that my audiologist talked about.

The HAs I have are tiny - BTE Oticon Spirit Zest (open fit) so no moulds.

I was wondering if there's some trick to using them with a phone as I had to take my left aid out to use my phone earlier as it sounded way too quiet?

Oh another question or two what happens if you get caught in a rain shower, do you need to take them out and if so do you carry one of your HA boxes everywhere you go just in case?

She told me these were quite expensive but I can't find this model anywhere so just how expensive are they? I do know I have to pay I lose them, God forbid, but I wouldn't mind being forewarned?

Sorry for the questions again but you always think of things after the appointment. :cool: And well you're all so nice.

Thanks, Tehya

Hi Tehya,

Sounds like a really good start with your new Zests

With the phone, try holding it somewhere near the top of your ear. There is a little hole near the top of the aids where the microphone is, and you need to centre the phone over that bit. If that doesn't help then ask the audiologist about telecoils and wireless/Bluetooth streamers at your follow-up appointment. An amplified phone would help as well.

Don't worry too much about rain. I have never, ever, taken my aids out in bad weather, although I do make sure I have an umbrella handy or a coat with a hood. I put my aids through all sorts of abuse as a child and have only ever had one totally conk out on me :cool:

I would also second Hear-hear's advice to take notes (like a diary) and record any particular sounds or words that are a problem for you, it really does help with the fine-tuning.

Tehya

Thanks for the reassurance about being out in the rain, it really had me worried yesterday when I got a only a tiny bit wet, I'd only had them in for about an hour or so. I just envisioned taking them back all waterlogged and getting told off.

Also thanks for the diary ideas I've found myself a little diary to fill in ready for my follow up in about 8 weeks.

I've just done a practice with both the home phone and my mobile (hubby was my guinea pig, poor thing has heard nothing but hearing aids from me for the last few weeks) and now I know to hold it higher up I'm able to hear on the phone pretty much normally for the first time in about 3 years. So many, many thanks for that.

It's good to know that these little marvels are a bit sturdier than they look as I have a bad habit of breaking things but I'm being extra careful with them.

Oh and Hear-Hear thanks for the information on costs etc I feel really stupid now because the audiologist gave me a wee booklet to keep notes on repairs and batteries etc and smack bang on the front is a great big sticker saying if you lose your HA there's a £75 charge per aid.

Anyway thanks again, I'm sure I'll be back to annoy you all some more.

Guardsman

Question... How do you clean your hearing aid and how often do you clean it.
I do mine weekly but I just give it a quick dusting and blow on the microphone.