Anyone able to recommend a digital hearing aid based on their own experience or someone they look after? Must be a digital one, not an analogue one.
My hearing has an upper frequency of only 2000 Hz, or so, or in old language, 2000 cycles per second (cps). I know that after using piano keyboards.
www.alibaba.com/showroom/china-hearing-aids.html
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No experience but I suspect they are no different to "UK" ones (which may come from China anyway)
I buy lots of little bits of junk from China, mostly electronics, and they've all been fine so far.
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I think we’re looking at junk here .Your best route if you can’t afford private is the NHS where you can get a digital hearing aid,albeit not the latest state of the art model,for nothing . Your hearing needs to be properly assessed by an audiologist.and the aid tailored to your needs.
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Agree with CGN.
The digital aids from NHS are perfectly adequate and free and you are properly assessed .The aids and tests are updated every couple of years.
If you want to pay several thousand pounds for something you csn get for free you need your whole head examined, not just your ears.
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I have pretty much perfect hearing in one ear and very poor distorted hearing in the other. I tried an NHS aid a few years ago but it just amplified the distorted sound so I gave up. The audiologist said the only solution was a private one at £2k but agreed that if I could get by without it was just as well to do so. No doubt the NHS ones have improved since then and I may have another go.
Meanwhile a friend has a modern private aid set up and it's very impressive. Not only are the aids well-tuned but he has several additional features such as he can listen to radio and has a separate pick-up/transmitter he can place remotely if he wants to follow, say, conversation round a table or in a car. It's all controllable from his smart phone as well. The sound quality is apparently very good too.
Finally back to the OP point I expect lots of the kit now comes from China but I would still only buy via a recognised outlet. The idea of possibly dodgy electronics sitting for hours within an inch of my brain is not an attractive one.
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None of those in the link are several thousand pounds. Some of them are a lot of 100 pieces which makes them more.
The free NHS ones are the really visible ones which sit behind your ear and a pipe goes into your ear aren't they? Depending on how much more you are prepared to spend (i.e. up to several thousand pounds) the devices get less and less visible. They also come with more sophisticated technology and remote controls etc. I can see why people might want to spend money to get those.
Having said that if it were me I'd definitely go NHS to start with, to get assessed etc as they may even find a cause which can be addressed without aids.
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>> Agree with CGN.
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>> The digital aids from NHS are perfectly adequate and free and you are properly assessed
>> .The aids and tests are updated every couple of years.
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>> If you want to pay several thousand pounds for something you csn get for free
>> you need your whole head examined, not just your ears.
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I said the NHS aids were adequate and free. They are not however the best in terms of technology and audio quality or appearance and if these things matter to you you and you can afford it you may want to go down the private route which is what eventually I did.
Modern hearing aids are discreet and quite amazing in their technology and mine have quite changed my life. I can hear birdsong again, I don’t need the TV turned up to 50 and the actors have stopped mumbling. I can have a conversation in a noisy restaurant without being deafened by the background noise.
The technology means that I can receive a phone call direct to my aid and I can stream audio, very handy when travelling or indeed am in boring company! They don’t have fiddly batteries and my iPhone will tell, me their state of charge and indeed where I left them. I can also customise the sound output manually via the phone if I want to
If NHS aids fulfil you needs then great but you can get better privately and if you want to pay for that and can afford it then personally I would and did.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Mon 18 Nov 19 at 09:44
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Finally gone for ear-protection when riding. Some minor tinnitus issues in one ear, which may be linked to an ear infection. My hearing is poor after a lifetime of biking and rock concerts, but hey ho I live with it. I invested in decent helmets over the years (and ears) and as from the next ride I'll be wearing proper custom made ear protection. Not sure whether I'll get on with them, but who knows !
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I was measured for some some custom made ones at the NEC bike show a few years ago. Couldn't get on with them. Irritated my inner ear and then pain running down the ear canal.
I've subsequently been happy since with the sound elimination of a series of Schuberth helmets.
Last edited by: Fullchat on Mon 18 Nov 19 at 11:44
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>> The digital aids from NHS are perfectly adequate and free and you are properly assessed
No good for a former colleague of mine. He had to go private in the end. Cost him £5000 for his hearing aids. Fortunately at the time he was still in employment and work paid for one of them after arguing for safety reasons he needed to hear properly due to the working environment he was in.
Since then, he's retired, and has recently had to have a new pair of hearing aids costing him over £4000, which came with a remote control that does all manner of things so he taylor them to his needs. eg, in a cinema, in a crowd of people, and answering the phone.
and then there is the added expense of batteries every couple of weeks, and also having regular visits to the hearing clinic to have them recalibrated, serviced, etc.
And they're not even waterproof!
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The cost of the aids should include visits to the audiologist as necessary, mine does. All latest models I think are now rechargeable. Mine last at least eighteen hours on one charge. You just pop them in their case and the will recharge in a few hours. The case itself hold enough power to recharge the batteries fo three days before it itself needs charging.
Rain can be a problem. Wear a hat! Wind noise on the microphones can be an issue . It can largely be tuned out in the settings but on a windy walk a woolly hat over the ears does the job.
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I'd be rather loathe to decide on my hearing aid requirements based on what piano notes I can hear. Loss of high frequency in old age is a given, at 65 my range is now down to 15hz to 7.8khz At 15 you should get to 18khz+
I am also 3db down in my right ear due to an airbag going off in it.
Friend of mine has very fancy hearing aid, unless you knew you wouldn't spot them, private of course, very expensive, tuned to her hearing situation, but then as she is a music teacher, choir mistress at a posh west london school, and a music board examiner she needs it that way.
Last edited by: Zero on Mon 18 Nov 19 at 11:08
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It’s the loss of the top end of the spectrum that causes most of the problems. It effectively removes the ability to hear the consonants in speech so voices sound mumbly.
If you
Frequently need to ask people to repeat themselves.
You guess what people are saying and get it wrong!
Your family comment or the loudness of the TV
You no longer hear birdsong.
People sound as though they are mumbling
You can’t understand people in a restaurant.
You probably would benefit from a hearing aid.
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....not sure I'd want some that talked to me in Chinese, though....
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CGN Thanks for the feedback.
A web survey gave these 6 as the top 6 makers of hearing aids. Denmark twice (two companies), Switzerland, US, Singapore and China. I am curious to know where yours came from.
I was with someone just yesterday who told me a similar story, about his Oticon one from Denmark being superior to his NHS one.
I was a bit disturbed to read the power out stated, on some deaf aid pictures I saw, to be 125dB because that is usually well and truly ear damaging high and not what I would want. No it was not a bone conductor one.
I once offered to repair my Dad's Madrescoe aid of long ago. I plugged it in to my ear and searched for a dicky joint. I found it and was then in excruciating ear pain. I could not get it out quickly enough.
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Mine are Specsavers own brand “Advance”. I understand from the audiologist they are made by ReSound, a Danish Co and are all but identical to their corresponding model. They cost £1695 for the pair
Have been very impressed with Specsavers both in the original testing and subsequent setting up and fine tuning and would recommend them.
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"Have been very impressed with Specsavers both in the original testing and subsequent setting up and fine tuning and would recommend them."
I can second that. I have a pretty serious upper mid- to high-frequency loss. I've had two pairs of hearing aids from Specsavers; the first was pretty good, but I upgraded to a Siemens top-of-the-range pair a couple of years ago (best part of £3,000).
They are fairly unobtrusive - not that I care particularly.
They have in effect three programs for processing sound: one for conversation, one for music and one for phone - and they switch automatically between the three. Control of background noise is impressive, as is their ability to adapt to different acoustic environments - e.g. listening to someone talking from behind while I'm driving. My audiologist took the utmost care in customising them to my needs and ongoing care is free.
I am well impressed.
Last edited by: James Loveless on Mon 18 Nov 19 at 23:28
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>>You guess what people are saying and get it wrong!
Your family comment or the loudness of the TV
You no longer hear birdsong.
People sound as though they are mumbling
You can't understand people in a restaurant.
I have an NHS hearing aid - after a test due to my tinnitus and reduced hearing. I just have never got on well with it and felt that it made any difference. However I have been told that I need to persevere and let my brain "retrain".
Those that have hearing aids, how long did it take you to feel that there was a noticeable improvement?
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A few years ago I had Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, in essence shingles that affects the facial nerves and ear. Very unpleasant and definitely not recommended. Only 60% of sufferers make a full recovery, of which I am pretty much one although the hearing in my right ear was significantly affected. It was none too good anyway, but nosedived after this.
I got an NHS hearing aid and from the moment it was fitted and switched on noticed a positive difference. The audiologist saw the look on my face as he switched it on. It was the tinkling of the mugs etc on the tea trolley outside the room. A stroll down the lane was amazing, I could hear the birds that in fact I hadn’t heard for years. I was told that I could manage without it but better to start then as it would delay anticipated further decline.
Now nearly four years on and it continues to work well. I don’t notice I am wearing it, but am beginning to think it needs a tune up as hearing in certain circumstances does become more difficult.
Incidentally huge credit to the NHS and our local hospital. I was admitted from A&E at 11pm on a Sunday evening with excruciating ear pain, was seen and treated by a doctor that night, spent a couple of days in hospital and was correctly and quickly diagnosed and treated. At least so Dr Google and RHS websites tell me. No complaints from me, quite the contrary, but then I don’t need a hip replacement or treatment for a similar chronic complaint.
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>> It was the tinkling of the mugs etc on the tea trolley outside the room. A stroll down the lane was amazing, I could hear the birds that in fact I hadn't heard for years.
I've had my ears syringed a couple of times. The number of cars with slightly blowing exhausts you can hear afterwards..............................
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>> Those that have hearing aids, how long did it take you to feel that there
>> was a noticeable improvement?
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My experience was that when I first was given the aids the world seemed very very noisy. I remember the rustling of my jacket seemed seemed horrendous. The traffic noise outside was overwhelming. My own voice seemed odd. I too was told that it was necessary to persevere and that my brain would adjust to the new input. This proved correct. It took about four weeks until things seemed normal and the lavatory flushing no longer sounded like Niagara Falls.
Stay with it. It does take a while but it’s so worth the effort.
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Part of my resistance to wearing it is I regularly wear in ear headphones. Daily. Whether it be dog walking, running or just walking up to shop or whatever.
Obviously can’t wear this style with a hearing aid in and I don’t like the big over the ear headphones. Fine for on a plane or train but not for walking about the streets!
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"Part of my resistance to wearing it is I regularly wear in ear headphones. Daily. Whether it be dog walking, running or just walking up to shop or whatever.
Obviously can't wear this style with a hearing aid in and I don't like the big over the ear headphones."
There is a fairly simple answer. You can get hearing aids that will pick up music from your mobile phone via bluetooth.
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I use the ability to hear streamed audio in my hearing aids a lot. Effectively you always have a pair of wireless headphones in your ears. All you need to do is to turn on the streamed music or radio on your phone and it will be automatically connect to the aids.
Sometimes when listening at home to music I like to use my Bose wireless over ear noise cancelling headphones as the quality of sound is better The clever thing is that if switch these on my iPhone will automatically switch off the connection to my aids and connect via Bluetooth to the headphones.
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"Those that have hearing aids, how long did it take you to feel that there was a noticeable improvement?"
In my case, several weeks, and not using them continuously. The brain gets tired while trying to adjust.
The problem is that the perceptual faculties of someone going deaf have gone into overdrive trying to make sense of the feebler input from the ears. When you start wearing hearing aids everything seems not just loud, but overwhelming. But you must persevere.
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I wear only one aid, in my right ear . I suffer quite bad tinnitus with a constant whistling and loss of high frequencies.
The NHS aid is perfectly adequate to tune out my problems but if others want to pay more for sophisticated additional controls then it is up to them .
I noticed on first wearing the wind noise across the microphone, high pitched bird song, crackling of newspaper and traffic noise and it did take a couple weeks getting used to it.
I do not tend to wear it all the time but need it more in social outings where I am surrounded by sound and I can tune out the volume of sound behind me and directly concentrate on conversations with those that I am facing.
I was told by the audiologist the cost of each NHS aid was around £1500.
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Also the NHS arranged an examination by an ear specialist who referred me for an MRI scan to ensure there were no underlying problems...not something you get at Specsavers.
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Not really true. If you want a NHS hearing test in many parts of the country it can be performed by Specsavers and will be done by a fully qualified audiologist to the same standards as by the NHS
www.specsavers.co.uk/hearing/hearing-aids/nhs-hearing-aids
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I agree that it is worth trying out NHS aids for a start to see if they work for you. My experiences:
NHS. Set of Oticon Spirit Zests. Free, being the fourth set in about 20 years. Prominent (I can’t in any case use the in-ear type); coarse sound; either too loud or too soft (when loud, transients such as dropped china in a café are such that I literally jump in my seat. I still need subtitles for TV); feedback whistle if anyone comes too close; wind noise not a problem); only three controls (two identical in result); no un-off switch; easy to clean; local access for service poor (e.g. for tube changing every six months – not a DIY job.)
Private. Set of Phonax Savias, £2750 in 2005. Can be switched off in use and are better in most other respects but very hard to keep clean and the tiny tubes only last about a month before blocking with wax, after which they can’t be cleaned further and are very costly to replace. As are the tiny filters that only last a month or so and are so fiddly to change that I am tempted to give up on them. However the sound is very suave by comparison and they are so small few people can spot them. They have been tweaked several times over the years and may need replacing.
I imagine I shall find that there would be no change from £5000 for a set now. SpecSavers or Boots might ask less but I don’t know about their quality.
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OGN: Are your's the in-ear variety or behind the ear ones? Any preferences?
Presently not keen on behind the ear one.
And are they rechargeable? I saw that after even a short charge, one lasted 6 hours.
I have been given a date for an NHS ear test -- early December.
If it is a long wait for the aids, after that, I will follow you.
The £1k8 is not a problem.
Thanks for all the contributions.
Last edited by: busbee on Tue 19 Nov 19 at 18:44
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The NHS ones may well be off the shelf i.e. you may walk out with them in the day. I think I did. If I didn't it certainly wasn't a long wait.
Still don't wear them though, they feel too obvious, which I know is daft. I can still get by well enough in most scenarios though so maybe my hearing isn't too bad yet.
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Probably not. May be, but the test is in an empty doctor room in the doctors surgery.
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BTE type. Believe this is most popular as design allows More space for technology and rechargeable batteries. Rechargeable with at least 18 hours operation ( have never gone flat on me). Aids switch off automatically when placed in charger and restart when removed. Will I believe give 6 hours charge in an hour but have never needed to do that
My aids are considerably smaller than NHS offering. Being a lot slimmer is important if you wear glasses as you want the glasses to sit comfortably behind the aids
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Yes. I can live with that. Thanks
Last edited by: busbee on Tue 19 Nov 19 at 21:01
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"SpecSavers or Boots might ask less but I don't know about their quality."
Specsavers do have their "own" branded range, but also sell Signia (Siemens), Phonak and ReSound.
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I hate my NHS aids.
I have two, but generally only wear the one in my better ear.
The aid often makes my ear hurt and my ear is perpetually full of flaking skin. I also occasionally
use E45 cream to ease the flakiness and the nasty deposit resulting on the towel in the morning, post shower, is evidence of how much the aid creates the flakiness.
I've had a new earpiece made, but it's no better.
I take the aids out whenever possible, (much to my wife's annoyance), and luxuriate in the relief of not having my ear stuffed with an uncomfortable foreign object.
I had a private aid some years ago and it was similarly nasty to wear.
With my aid(s) in place, the slightest cough makes me gag and only their removal cures it.
I only really watch TV if there are subtitles as, unlike my wife, I'm a quick reader and a glance suffices to read most sentences.
Blessed silence, especially if there is loud background and largely unnecessary, so called, music!
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You paint a joyous picture of your life Roger.
Last edited by: CGNorwich on Fri 6 Dec 19 at 13:40
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I've had ear protection made for me. Since I've had the Guzzi there is an increase in buffeting and wind noise. For the first time ever I've suffered from occasional tinnitus last few weeks, I'm convinced (now that it's largely gone) that it was some sort of ear infection, but I'm not taking any risks. My helmet is amongst the best in noise reduction but the plugs take it to another level. I've been diagnosed with reduced hearing in my left ear quite a few years ago, don't want it to get any worse.
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Chinese Digital Hearing aids - smokie
