| Non-motoring > Headphones & Hearing Aids | Miscellaneous |
| Thread Author: Bobby | Replies: 25 |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 09:26
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Bobby
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Probably a stupid question but I will be going next week to get a hearing aid - between my tinnitus and dull hearing, I am assured it will make a difference! Its just an NHS one so nothing fancy - the battery holder thingy will be over the ear (fighting with my glasses leg). However due to traffic being a nightmare, I am either commuting by train or by bike. And I do a lot of dog walking. All of which I like to do with my headphones in listening to music / podcasts etc. The headphones I use are in ear ones that clip round the ear. So obviously no good with a hearing aid. So I am thinking maybe I need to get an "on ear" set of headphones (OK I am trying to justify new Bluetooth headphones) but would these work with a hearing aid in place? Or is it a case of hearing aid out, headphones in? Anyone else here going deaf, half blind, high blood pressure.................. that can advise? |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 10:17
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Focal Point
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Based on my experience, I would say keep your hearing aids in and use over-the-ear headphones. The alternative is to tweak the settings on your music device to mimic the sound you will get from your hearing aids. But be warned: you will need some time to get used to the hearing aids anyway and you may find the over-the-ear phones plus hearing aids are overwhelming. Most people find wearing hearing aids is difficult at first, because without them you've been straining to hear properly and now everything will sound too loud. It's important that you persevere and allow your perception (because it's the mental processes we're talking about) to re-adjust. Probably you won't know what's best for you until you've got used to the hearing aids. I've been wearing hearing aids of various types for many years now and really could not manage daily existence without them. |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 10:41
Headphones & Hearing Aids - legacylad
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Which reminds me... my recently deceased Aunt had two lots of 'in ear' hearing aids, purchased at great expense, from a company called 'Hidden Hearing'. I think they were moulded to fit the individuals ear shape.... any idea what I should do with them?. I think she paid about £2/3k per set when they visited her in the Nursing Home! Apologies... hope I've not hijacked the thread And if you can afford them, get Bose QC over ear noise cancelling headphones. I bought a pair of QC15s several years ago and a friend bought some similar second hand off EBay. I personally wouldnt buy wireless headphones Last edited by: legacylad on Wed 8 Feb 17 at 10:42
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 10:47
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Focal Point
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I have had hearing aids from Hidden Hearing in the past. (Bit of a rip-off, actually, but that's another story.) The earpieces, as LL says, are personal to the wearer and no use to anyone else. The body of the thing theoretically could be re-programmed for someone else. But given that any second-hand piece of technology isn't worth much, I wouldn't bet on getting anything for them. Only Hidden Hearing would in principle be interested (unless they are not their own brand) and you would have to approach them. I wouldn't be hopeful. |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 11:00
Headphones & Hearing Aids - legacylad
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FP I approached HH and asked if they had any links with a charity... they were unhelpful and I think my Aunt was taken advantage of. They charged her £299 for an ear 'remould' and she paid them an annual insurance fee, probably covered on her home contents. I don't want anything for them. Just to go somewhere where they can be of some use. Happy to post them on to anybody.... |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 11:16
Headphones & Hearing Aids - CGNorwich
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You could donate the hearing aids to this charity www.hearingcarecentre.co.uk/Info_page_two_pic_2_det.asp?art_id=6376 |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 11:54
Headphones & Hearing Aids - helicopter
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I have an NHS behind the ear aid for my left ear and if I am listening to music at home with my earbud headphones I just take the aid out. When I travel I use my Sony over ear noise suppressing headphones, excellent on the plane for listening to music and drowning out the engine noise and the irritating announcements.. Anything other than NHS aids are a right royal rip off . I had my aid fitted within a week of referral from my doctor and it cost nothing. |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 12:04
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Ambo
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| I think this is a problem best raised with the people fitting your aids. I don't know if the NHS provide in-ear aids (which are not suitable in my case) but if so it might be possible to use earbuds in addition. |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 12:49
Headphones & Hearing Aids - smokie
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I was given NHS aids for poor hearing a few years back but I don't use them much. It's not that bad (for me anyway, maybe it for the poor souls who have to keep repeating themselves :-) ) Anyway I read that music fans will not like the way music comes through most hearing aids. Easy to whip them out while listening to music and put them back after. They come with a little pouch which keeps them safe, and you can keep some spare batteries in. I must say that the few times I've worn them tend to get fed up with all the stuff I can now hear, like small change rattling in my pocket as I walk, squeaky floorboards and just general noise. I guess I'd get to filter that out but for now I just put them in when I need them (e.g. have them ready at the theatre etc) |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 12:54
Headphones & Hearing Aids - VxFan
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>> Anything other than NHS aids are a right royal rip off . NHS ones for a colleague of mine were no good. He had no choice but to go elsewhere. Cost him £5000 for a pair of hearing aids. Fortunately our employer paid for one of them as he argued he needed his hearing for work. Other thing with non NHS ones, you have to buy your own batteries too. Luckily for my colleague, he knows someone else who's also deaf and they get more than enough batts from the NHS, which he passes across. Prior to that it was costing him a small fortune as the batts only last a couple of weeks. Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 8 Feb 17 at 12:55
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 13:01
Headphones & Hearing Aids - smokie
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Why were the NHS ones no good? £5k sounds a lot. I was a bit vain about wearing the NHS ones at first and looked at the deep in-ear ones and I'm sure the very worst case was £3.5k for a pair. But there were plenty which were a lot cheaper. There's no check round here on battery usage - I just wander into the local hospital and ask for some replacements and they just give me a small handful of packs. Don't have to give my name or sign anything... or even prove I have them, though I usually do. |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 15:37
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Stuartli
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>>Why were the NHS ones no good?>> I have the Siemens Octiv+ BTE (Behind The Ear) hearing aids, which were supplied by my local hospital's audiology department more than a year ago and find them excellent. Initially I was given a hearing aid test at my local doctor's surgery by one of the nurses and then referred to the audiology department. The first time I attended I was given a thorough hearing aid test lasting around 45 minutes and then given a further appointment. When I attended this appointment I was supplied with two of the Seimens Octiv+ aids, each individually tuned with the use of a computer for my hearing requirements; they also have settings to adjust the coverage in circumstances such as a noisy environment. A member of the department staff then stood behind me and checked that I understood a series of spoken words. After successfully completing this task I was informed that I had no need to return to the department or several other support centres in the town, other than to acquire free supplies of batteries and tips. I do have to show a identity card to be supplied with the batteries and/or tips. I was informed that the department obtains its hearing aids at special prices for the NHS and that they are a fraction of the independent outlets. These outlets claim that they offer up to four years back up service such as support and batteries, but at the prices they charge I'm not surprised they can do so...:-) :-) I find that I can use a landline or mobile phone quite easily whilst wearing the aids if you place the receive calls section near the hearing aid, although it's even better with the aid removed. In addition, my HTC 10 mobile phone can be personalised for listening to music in similar fashion to having a hearing test, so I can use earphones as normal..:-) By the way, my insurance company (SwiftCover) assured me that the hearing aids are covered under my house contests policy if they are lost or stolen. |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 16:52
Headphones & Hearing Aids - VxFan
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>> Why were the NHS ones no good? Unfortunately my colleague has since retired so I can't ask him. I guess pretty much the same as Focal Point's explanation though. I know he (my ex colleague) had loads of tests but the NHS couldn't help him. He had to go private in the end. |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 13:39
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Focal Point
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"Anything other than NHS aids are a right royal rip off." No. Sorry - you don't understand the nature of the hearing problems some of us have. Your single NHS aid may be OK for you, but the audiologist who dealt with you was probably allowed very little time to program it for your requirements; if these were straightforward that didn't matter. In my case, the NHS aids I tried were virtually useless - though, to be fair, this was a while back and things are probably better now. But the lack of time spent per patient can be a big problem. I have a fairly severe hearing loss over a wide range of frequencies. The digital hearing aids I'm using I've had for several years. They have two programs, one for speech and (most important for me) one for music, with a further program for telephone use. They were configured to compensate for my hearing deficiency rather like a complex sound mixer. This took my audiologist at least an hour, matching the settings in the aids with the graph of my hearing as measured by a test, and I returned on three further occasions for fine tuning. The aids switch automatically between the speech setting - the default - and the music setting. This means I can play in an orchestra and the aids switch program as we start; and when we stop and the conductor speaks the aids switch back. If I use the phone I have to switch manually. You don't get that kind of complex aid, personally configured, from the NHS, but I would be lost without them. I paid £1800 (I think) and all adjustments, maintenance etc were/are free. Batteries are not. |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 13:56
Headphones & Hearing Aids - helicopter
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I think you might find the NHS aids a lot better than you think these days FP....not quite the ear trumpet analogue technology it used to be. The audiologist was the employee of a chain of opticians /hearing specialists who have the NHS contract for our area, a very pleasant and competent lady. My aid is digital and was programmed by computer exactly as your private supplier appears to have done . I have only high frequency loss and tinnitus in the left ear and the audiologist spent two hours fine tuning and fitting.I am sure.she mentioned that if I had had two aids they could be programmed to talk to each other and switch settings as you describe Cost me nothing..equivalent single aid in Specsavers is around £1600....no brainer... |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 14:19
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Ted
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I have NHS aids for both ears. The most recent being my right ear. They do talk to each other. They're very good, almost too good...I can hear my feet scuffing on the carpet, but it's easy to turn the volume down and up. I mostly wear the right one only but I do change over when me glasses start to hurt the top of my ear. Audiology clinic a mile up the road at the cottage hospital. They will book me in for a de-wax if I think I need it Go down the NHS route first, I'm sure they will tell you if you need something more specialized. Batteries are free and they don't seem to bother how many they dish out to you. They never touch my final front ear, though. |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 14:28
Headphones & Hearing Aids - smokie
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My experience was not unlike Helicopter's - took time to adjust the aids using a laptop, I must admit I was quite impressed with that but quite honestly I can't see why it took so long - they need a new app I think to automatically transfer the graph better!! Mine have a single button and it has three options (press once, twice and three times) though I forget what they are - none are volume, and sometimes two is good and other times three. My ears are fairly equally crap but I did have the idea that I would be better off with one than the full set (of aids, not ears!!) and the lady said she could do that, but it takes different programming - so I guess mine work as a set somehow. I wouldn't rule out getting private ones sometime in the future, purely for vanity though. The alternative is to grow my hair longer I suppose :-) (Third and current alternative being to not be so vain...!!) |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 15:39
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Stuartli
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>>Mine have a single button and it has three options (press once, twice and three times) though I forget what they are - none are volume, and sometimes two is good and other times three.>> The first setting is likely to be normal, the second to cut out some sound from the rear and the third when a hearing aid loop is available in a public building, church or service area. |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 15:51
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Ted
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Mine use the tiny button batteries with the peel off orange cover. I guess they're pretty universal. I find it the very devil of a job gripping the shiny battery casing whilst trying to get a grip on the tiny tag on the orange peel-off. Hands too cold ? Not even trying ! |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 16:09
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Ambo
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| There is no point in stockpiling more than 12 of those NHS batteries at a time. The packs are not airtight and the contents self-discharge quite fast. |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 16:50
Headphones & Hearing Aids - smokie
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I was at a comedy gig a week or so back and forgot to put them in in advance, but discovered I needed them. Hadn't used them for months so the batteries were dead. I gave up because after a lot of fiddling around in the dark to put new batteries in and them still not working I thought my neighbour might consider I was a bit slow at pleasuring myself!! Wasn't till I got home and looked at them that I remembered that orange peel off bit!! |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 17:36
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Stuartli
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>> I find it the very devil of a job gripping the shiny battery casing whilst trying to get a grip on the tiny tag on the orange peel-off.>> Just put the battery in the hearing aid's housing whilst it's on a flat surface and then pull off the orange section by its tab...:-) The batteries I'm supplied with are RayOVac Crystal Clear + (size 13) and they last up to three weeks if you don't leave the hearing aids switched on unnecessarily. |
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New Wed 8 Feb 17 20:18
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Roger.
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I have two NHS BTE aids. They are digital and are Oticon brand. They "talk" to each other, wirelessly I understand, so that they balance sound output. They are VERY difficult to adjust when on the head, as the volume rocker switches are minute. There is also a hearing loop setting, again, almost impossible to adjust in active use, as the switch is microscopic. Much care was taken at our NHS hospital audiology dept. to fine tune them and subsequent service has been first class. However - I HATE, HATE, HATE, wearing them! The feeling of ears filled with foreign bodies is nauseous (literally if I cough). I usually only have one in, in my better ear, and it gives me from time, to time, a sore and swollen ear, together with very flaky skin in my ear and on my earlobe. A couple of days non-use works, but at the cost of a very irate wife! Sudacreme used liberally helps somewhat with the eczema and soreness. As fae as a mobile phone is concerned, I do have great difficulty on hearing voice calls, even with careful positioning of the phone. I've solved that by finding an app for Android phones which automatically switches to hands-free mode on making, or receiving, a call.(Privacy is affected, of course!) I have a decent pair of over-ear wireless headphones for TV use. They work fine at maximum volume, without an aid, but there is enough sound-bleed at maximum to annoy my wife! I really prefer subtitles, though and find that the BBC iPlayer is much more with it in this than ITV Hub. |
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New Thu 9 Feb 17 00:32
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Stuartli
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>>However - I HATE, HATE, HATE, wearing them!>> I think that perhaps you are just unlucky. I have several friends who also have hearing aids (it's an age thing for the majority of us), but we've never taken that view. Best mate does have problems because he has the ear moulds which can cause infections, but it's better to be able to hear after suffering tinnitus and other ear difficulties over the years as he readily admits. I do confess that it took me some time to finally concede that I needed hearing aids (I blamed it on blocked sinuses originally), but the difference has been remarkable. |
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New Fri 17 Feb 17 23:39
Headphones & Hearing Aids - Bobby
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| Would you lot stop shouting??? 😂 |
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New Sat 18 Feb 17 08:52
Headphones & Hearing Aids - helicopter
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| Pardon....What did you say.... |
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