NHS hearing aids

Sterlingtimes

This may help some others here. There is a bit of a postcode lottery involved. I used self-referral rather than visiting my GP: this was permitted in Birmingham and Solihull. I telephoned Specsavers and immediately obtained an appointment for a hearing test. It took three working days from start to finish to obtain my new hearing aids. And, they are wonderful!

It is not all good. I was told that in nearby Coventry, there is a six-month waiting list. You have to use your local NHS area.

Savvy_Sue

I can't help feeling that the areas served by Specsavers definitely get a better service than elsewhere. Here, I guess it could be worse, but once you have your hearing aids …

• to get an appointment for re-tubing or any other repairs you phone for an appointment. They almost certainly won't have any. They're released weekly, so you have to know when, and phone shortly afterwards.
• If at the repairs appointment you have the temerity to say that your hearing has deteriorated, and it's not 3 or 5 years since your last test, they won't give any tests there and then. No, you have to phone and make another appointment.
• At THAT appointment they won't give a full test, just a quick check. They may agree you need new aids because yours are so old, and that you need a fuller test, but … you have to phone and make another appointment.
• And at THAT appointment they won't have ordered the new aids, so you'll have to phone and make another appointment at which your needs can be assessed and the new aids tuned - we hope!

But I am grateful that we can still get NHS aids FOC, and I'm glad that you've found they are helpful @Sterlingtimes

dnpark38

I have NHS hearing aids and as @Savvy_Sue says hard to get repairs and you have to phone to make appointments but it's an answering machine that takes your number and if your lucky they call you back.

Prior to covid they had a walking repair service with two technicians and repairs were quite quick. After covid this walk in had ceased never to return.

Now its appointments with an audiologist who now as the task of repairs as well as other duties, the technicians are gone hence the big delays.

@Sterlingtimes It seems Specsavers would charge a £1000 each aid here.

Savvy_Sue

But just to reassure everyone, if Specsavers have the NHS contract in your area, they will supply entry level hearing aids free of charge.

I'm not saying they won't try to upsell if you have any issues (like still not being able to hear in noisy environments!) but the entry level models will be free, and IMO that's where you should always start.

Sterlingtimes

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82063256#Comment_82063256

Thank you, Savvy_Sue. I am impressed with the NHS hearing aid. But my problem is the relatively simple loss of high-frequency hearing. Coventry, which had not got the funding for NHS aids, offered me entry-level hearing aids for £500. The price to replace each lost or damaged NHS aid is £100.

Alnat1

This issue really need bringing to the attention of the Health Minister, whoever that may be by the end of the month.

Hearing loss has been listed as one of the major causes of cognitive decline in the elderly and it shouldn't be a postcode lottery whether or not you can access affordable care.

Sterlingtimes

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82064569#Comment_82064569

I was lucky to live in Solihull. Coventry and Warwickshire note the following:

• Median wait: ~8 months
• 67% of patients wait more than 18 weeks
• Over 14,000 people are currently waiting

Savvy_Sue

When I first became a User, I was put on the 'young people's' list. The criteria? If you were still working, you got a faster service.

I don't know if they're still using that distinction. I thought then, and I think now, that it's fundamentally wrong.

Marmaduke123

I've had a positive experience with my local audiology service and NHS hearing aids. I self referred, choosing my local hospital audiology department because ENT there had my records, including a previous hearing test.

I expected to wait a long time for an appointment, but it came through for a couple of weeks time. Following my hearing test I was told I qualified for NHS aids, but because I Have a large perforation on one eardrum I would need to have a mould rather than a thin tube aid in that ear. If that hadn't been needed the aids could have been fitted there and then.

The mould impression duly taken I received an appointment as soon as the mould was ready, two weeks from my first appointment. Four months later I needed an appointment for retubing, which I made online

I was offered a choice of venues, and could see available appointments for each, and chose one with a two week wait.

I am very satisfied with the aids

They connect by Bluetooth to my phone, allowing for audio streaming direct into my ears, including phone calls. There is a phone app to manage them. They are not rechargeable, but I believe the next NHS apps will be.

My husband paid thousands for his private hearing aids, so I feel very fortunate.

Sterlingtimes

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82065041#Comment_82065041

Thank you, Marmaduke, for posting. This will encourage others. The audiologist did not mention audio streaming to me, but I think that my 'phone is not compatible anyway. My only issue now is periodic itching.

Savvy_Sue

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82065661#Comment_82065661

Having just had a bout of eczema in my ears, I'd get the itching checked out. It's now under control and I intend to keep it that way!