Help for Father going deaf

bandraboy

Hi everyone.

My dad is partially deaf (and suffering from macular degeneration - which is another story).

He has a special headset to help him hear the TV.

His headset is broke and I wanna buy him a new one.

I just wondered if you knew where I can explore the options?

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Errata

Contact your local social services team for the deaf, they can assess and give him one on permanent loan.

bcl999

Your local council should have a Sensory Impairment Team in their Social Services department. Contact them and they will assess your father like Errata says. They can help with both the hearing and the eyesight problems. See what they will provide before you start buying things.

And if you do have to buy any equipment, remember to claim VAT exemption if it qualifies for it.

bcl999

And I replied to the "What did you say?" post thinking the OP hadn't understood what Errata had said! Am I thick or what? (No answers to that question, please).

[Deleted User]

bcl999 wrote: »

Am I thick or what? (No answers to that question, please).

No, you gave a much kinder reply than I did and should be commended for it. I should have learned to ignore this sort of thing by now shouldn't I?

Savvy_Sue

yes, I think we all knew that, but if someone says it's not funny, it's generally best to drop it.

I can joke about deafness within my side of the family, because we've all lived with it so long. But when FIL started to lose his hearing, it was no laughing matter!

[Deleted User]

No it isn't (but as you say, we learn to laugh about it!). Just a reminder to anyone who is deaf that hearing is classed as a "bodily function" for the purposes of claiming a benefit such as DLA.

deafdude

as most have said about social services , you could always try subtitles which are free on ceefax or teletext page 888 on most programmes or if you have satalite or freeview in the options as you can turn them on or off

kazwookie

I have 2 hearing aids, I would suggest googling, or get your doctor to refer you / father to local audiologist, mine gave me a book with a load of gagets in, but I cannot find the book now, sorry.

Savvy_Sue

deafdude wrote: »

you could always try subtitles which are free on ceefax or teletext page 888 on most programmes or if you have satalite or freeview in the options as you can turn them on or off

Two problems with subtitles: I find I can't 'rest my eyes' and use subtitles, I end up waking up after 10 minutes and wondering what's going on, but more importantly, the OP's dad also has sight problems!

rosieben

And subtitles are not always as accurate or speedy as they could be. I have a laugh at some of the nonsense that comes up but it does make it difficult to follow what's going on occasionally I tried to watch a sticom recently and the subtitles were actually about a minute early - most confusing! They're better than nothing, but no contest if there's a chance of a loop or other hearing help.

I'm waiting for an appointment with SS to see if they can help me with the cost of a personal loop or some kind of hearing help for tv and radio; as others have said, that is your best first stop and you'll find a lot of info on the RNID website