digital hearing aids

groucho73

hiya. hope i'm posting this in the right thread. here goes anyhow.
my mother has been quoted approx £1000 for a pair of hearing aids. now shes willing to pay the money cos shes not had much joy with the standard nhs issue. my only concern is whether going digital is worth the extra money. that quote was from specsavers so would boots or anyone else be any cheaper. thanks

sueturnersmith

The NHS only supply digital hearing aids now, and would compare very favourably with private aids costing £1000.

Chorlie

My Dad has digital hearing aid via the NHS.

He'd bought several sets before the NHS ones and none were that good, always selling him more expensive ones than he first expected. The NHS ones have been the best ones he's had by a long way.

If you're entitle to NHS hearing aids, then get them via the NHS, they will fit the best for you and not try to earn the most money from you....

sueturnersmith

I have NHS digital aids, having had NHS analogue aids in the past.

The only reason for going private, in my opinion, is that you get the hearing test and aids a bit quicker, and you have more styles of aid to choose from - they are no better than the NHS ones, in fact the cheaper choices are not as good!

Also remember that the NHS will maintain the aids free of charge, replace them when worn out (they only last about five years), and supply free batteries, which only last two or three weeks.

Hear-Hear

Standard NHS issue hearing aids are indeed digital, and have been since 2003. A lot of people try NHS aids first, and then go private for a variety of reasons. Many people are happy with the NHs aids, and many are not. Although you do not get a choice through the NHS, the latest NHS aids (available since the last NHS catalogue was released in August 2010) are really very good indeed. Success depends on the skills of the audiologist, how much time is spent at fitting and follow-up appointments, making sure you know how to get the best out of them, whether annual rechecks are provided, whether one of two hearing aids are supplied, and of course whether you are happy with the cosmetic appearance.

A £1,000.00 pair of hearing aids supplied by Specsavers is unlikely to be as good as a pair of NHS hearing aids (fitted after August 2010). You need to be looking at their Speech Emphasis range at about £1500.00 to be comparing like-for-like. Specsavers include free batteries included for 4 years.

Why not shop around though ? There are other well-known retailers that are fully qualified to supply hearing aids, and plenty of independent audiologists too. A second opinion could make a whole lot of difference, even if you then return to your original advisor. If you are buying privately, make sure you get a full money-back guarantee of 60 or 90 days to return them if you are not completely satisfied.

Don't forget too .... NHS-funded hearing aids (free to the user) will be available through any private sector firm that is qualified to supply them from April 2012. That's only 5 months away.