Some questions on hearing aids...

bellamonkey

Hi amalis

I know exactly how you are feeling. I was the same and got very tearfull about it all. I have now been wearing my hearing aid for 12 years and honestly people don't notice you are wearing one. I can also tell people I am deaf now, whereas before I got very emotional about it and went into a bit of a shell.

amalis

Thank you, bellamankey and summerof0763. I know it is better to be able to hear and I will eventually get over it. Today I was in tears because I could not book an appointment to the beauty salon because I could not understand the receptionist on the phone. Telephone is a nightmare for me. Can't believe I will have to ask someone to do it for me.
But I decided I will take a loan to buy CIC if NHS will offer me smthg ugly

summerof0763

amalis wrote: »

Thank you, bellamankey and summerof0763. I know it is better to be able to hear and I will eventually get over it. Today I was in tears because I could not book an appointment to the beauty salon because I could not understand the receptionist on the phone. Telephone is a nightmare for me. Can't believe I will have to ask someone to do it for me.
But I decided I will take a loan to buy CIC if NHS will offer me smthg ugly

hi,honestly the nhs ones are good,you get digital ones now.

mind you i wear two hearing aids and can barely hear on the phone,which really frustrates me,but then i am profoundly deaf,soon aids wont help me,which i am dreading.

am sure once you get them,will sound very loud to you,but presevere as they will help.

amalis

summerof0763 wrote: »

mind you i wear two hearing aids and can barely hear on the phone,which really frustrates me,but then i am profoundly deaf,soon aids wont help me,which i am dreading.

.

I also need two HA.
I feel with you. I know that for all of us here there will come a time when hearing aids will not be able to help. But I am trying not to think about it. Medicine is developing and maybe in a couple of yers they will invent something. Dont think of bad things. When this problem will come you will find a solution!

Savvy_Sue

Even with a hearing aid, you'll need a fair bit of practice to get used to using the phone with them. I never did master it ...

Can you use email to make appointments, or get a screen phone to see if that would help?

summerof0763

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Even with a hearing aid, you'll need a fair bit of practice to get used to using the phone with them. I never did master it ...

Can you use email to make appointments, or get a screen phone to see if that would help?

HI SAVVY SUE being honest have looked at the horrendous price of screen phone and typetalk yikes!!

amalis wrote: »

I also need two HA.
I feel with you. I know that for all of us here there will come a time when hearing aids will not be able to help. But I am trying not to think about it. Medicine is developing and maybe in a couple of yers they will invent something. Dont think of bad things. When this problem will come you will find a solution!

though i have been deaf since a small child,i was always told i would eventually lose my hearing "am 46" i thought i would be in my 80's before that happened oops.

keep saying am first in line for ear transplant lol but i want to keep my own outer ears as they are dainty lol.

i was at audiology today as one of mine broke down completely,got a new one with a constant buzzing noise argh,going to get d2 to phone again tomorrow as its driving me nuts!!

Savvy_Sue

Would a cochlear implant help at all? They do them for adults not just children.

sunnyone

summerof0763 wrote: »

hi,honestly the nhs ones are good,you get digital ones now.

mind you i wear two hearing aids and can barely hear on the phone,which really frustrates me,but then i am profoundly deaf,soon aids wont help me,which i am dreading.

am sure once you get them,will sound very loud to you,but presevere as they will help.

NHS aids are better than the private aids of the price scale that you stated earler in the thread, I started using aids as a teen and I was surprised how well everyone took it and the improvement it made to my life but now aids alone cant help me.

I still wear aids whenever Im awake and in combination with modern communications and lip reading I manage in most situations but in any situation were I cant see someones mouth or a busy, noisy place I cant communicate, no one profoundly deaf can but its much better than it was years ago and it will improve in years to come.

For upto severe hearing loss you can get phones that automatically change your HA program to use a phone easily via the loop program with no other aid needed, someone bought me one (no good for me) and the man I gave it to raves about how good it is, it was a Binatone easy speak or speak easy and others will be available.

Being able to use the phone was one of the hardest changes to take for me.

Hear-Hear

Amalis

When your new hearing aids set-up is being explained to you, make sure that your audiologist programmes it for you with an ‘Autophone’ programme. This will ensure that you don’t get feedback (that annoying whistling sound) when you bring the phone near to your ear.

The Hearing Aid Compatible phones that sunnyone mentions are a must !

If you do eventually decide to go for CIC’s, make sure you are fully aware of the limitations of that size of aid – no telecoil for instance, and no directional microphones. And … a greater likelihood of breakdown/repairs due to the position in the ear canal. Think in terms of ITC rather than CIC at least.


Summerof0763

Have to you ever contacted the Sensory Impairment Unit within your local County Council ? They will loan equipment such as Screen Phones, and help explain how TypeTalk works etc. You don not have to pay for the kit itself. BTW, one big advantage of using TypeTalk (now known as Text Relay) is that you get to dial unique numbers at places like your Bank, Utility, Council, and some commercial organisations too (even ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ has a unique number for Type Talk/Text Relay users)…. So, no more being put on hold or waiting for hours for phones to answer ! TypeTalk/TextRelay calls take a lot longer (obviously), but at least one phone line supplier [BT] has a super discount scheme in place for calls going through the TypeTalk prefixes 18001/18002, of around 60% off the cost of the call. Not sure what the score is with the likes of Virgin, TalkTalk and the rest.

salsarla

The problem with the nhs is that its so hard to get a good discreet hearing aid and the problem with the private sector is that they cost too damn much.