# Hearing



## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Chris has had a hearing test which was recommended at the optician we use. They are now a "hearing centre".

They have recommended that he wear hearing aids and that they will cost £2,100. He says that they did make a considerable difference when they were fitted.

Does this sound a reasonable figure?


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

MiL had an itinerant "audiologist" test her hearing and she agreed to pay £3k for a pair of "top of the range" aids.

These were fitted and adjusted several times over a period of months: she was told that her brain would need to re-learn how to ignore all the extra information which she would be collecting. At first she was very impressed with them but now she feels that they are no better than the basic NHS ones which she had. [It's not helped by the fact that she is "tighter than a gnat's ****" and hangs on to the old batteries, which we are sure she re-uses: hence the reduction in function.]

Good luck, whatever you decide.

Gordon


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

A friend, ex-military has just had a pair of digital heating aids. Assisted payment by the RBL. Cost was over £4K. Would seem yours are reasonable price......until the stickers fall off! 😄


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

I wear aids for the last 10 years. I have tried cheap ones off US e-bay $120, 'cheap' ones from audio shop here in France €900, expensive ones off UK e-bay £400 used, my bros in laws NHS ones after he died with new plugs. But all are just cheap amplifiers of about £20 value.
The market is a total rip off and when you consider a smart phone for about £100 can do 1000 x operations and play sound as well as record and even voice recognition and translate. Paying these inflates prices over £100 is just robbery. They are all just cheap amplifiers and make all sounds louder.
I have just had to pay €116 for two new ear molds from the audio shop here. €116 for two bits of crappy plastic.!!??

Rip off.

Ray.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

patp said:


> Chris has had a hearing test which was recommended at the optician we use. They are now a "hearing centre".
> 
> They have recommended that he wear hearing aids and that they will cost £2,100. He says that they did make a considerable difference when they were fitted.
> 
> Does this sound a reasonable figure?


Surely you go to the hospital audio department Pat, hearing aids are on the NHS, Hans had them and his Mother had private hearing aids that were taken over by the NHS it can´t have changed, could it? Hans refuses to have private ones, the health service should take care of that, mind you he is now on his umpteenth trial and will continue until he finds the ones that suit, please.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

Have had Phonak aids from Boots about four months now, they were just over 3K and I have to say they’ve made a great difference. They are rechargeable, so no changing battery issues, each ear can be adjusted via an app on my phone, they are Bluetooth enabled and the music quality is good. The sensitivity setting was gradually increased to 100% over a six week period by the Boots audiologist.

I used to be scolded for having the TV volume too loud, now I get asked to turn it up, you just can’t win :- )

Hope to recover some of the cost through an ongoing industrial hearing loss legal case.

Terry


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

JanHank said:


> Surely you go to the hospital audio department Pat, hearing aids are on the NHS, Hans had them and his Mother had private hearing aids that were taken over by the NHS it can´t have changed, could it? Hans refuses to have private ones, the health service should take care of that, mind you he is now on his umpteenth trial and will continue until he finds the ones that suit, please.


NHS hearing aids are great ...... if you want to be deaf but louder.


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

raynipper said:


> I wear aids for the last 10 years. I have tried cheap ones off US e-bay $120, 'cheap' ones from audio shop here in France €900, expensive ones off UK e-bay £400 used, my bros in laws NHS ones after he died with new plugs. But all are just cheap amplifiers of about £20 value.
> The market is a total rip off and when you consider a smart phone for about £100 can do 1000 x operations and play sound as well as record and even voice recognition and translate. Paying these inflates prices over £100 is just robbery. They are all just cheap amplifiers and make all sounds louder.
> I have just had to pay €116 for two new ear molds from the audio shop here. €116 for two bits of crappy plastic.!!??
> 
> ...


Totally agree Ray, specs are the same.
And to add to that any hearing technicians I came into contact with were pretty useless.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Spacerunner said:


> NHS hearing aids are great ...... if you want to be deaf but louder.


As I understood it they had to supply you with aids that suited your situation, we knew an organ builder who was supplied by the NHS with superb aids so that he could carry on his his work, without aids he was as deaf as a door post. Of course all that might have changed, but I would certainly look into it.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Spacerunner said:


> Totally agree Ray, specs are the same.
> And to add to that any hearing technicians I came into contact with were pretty useless.


I asked my UK GP about my hearing about 25 years ago and eventually he got me an appointment with a specialist. This in turn gave me an appointment at Kingston hospital hearing dept. After months I finally got an appointment to have my hearing tested. The test was typical with headphones on and various high pitched sounds you react to. Eventually after all the tests the 'technician' announced "Yes your deaf". NEXT...……………..

No help or advice and left.

Ray.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

Have to say the Boots audiologist, I had was excellent her report matched a subsequent report that of the consultant my solicitors sent me to re my claim.

Her follow-ups gradually increased the sensitivity and checking how I was getting on. Even contacted me a few weeks after my purchase letting me avail of the discount offer Boots had just instigated and credited cash back to my card. 

Really excellent customer care, a rare commodity these days. You pay your money and take your chance.

Terry


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

For those resident in France 🇫🇷 the situation is due to change as regards support for aids next January.

The current minimal support is on a sliding scale this year with 100% support from the Social Security wed January 2020. The Mutuelles are also being required to pay 100% of the approved fee so that may make a difference next January......

Perhaps....

It the State still decides what 100% actually means - my eye injections are 100% reimbursed but the surgeon charges 300% of the fee anyway.. and that is quite common.

So there is a new topic to discuss....,, but do it quietly 'cos my hearing is terrible in my right ear and has been for years as a direct result of too much shooting as a cadet with such things as .303, sten guns, Bren guns and similar things like Luger 9mm pistols.......


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

Penquin said:


> For those resident in France 🇫🇷 the situation is due to change as regards support for aids next January.
> 
> The current minimal support is on a sliding scale this year with 100% support from the Social Security wed January 2020. The Mutuelles are also being required to pay 100% of the approved fee so that may make a difference next January......
> 
> ...


My neighbour, who I suspect is a fair bit younger than you Dave, successfully claimed for hearing damage as the ear defenders they were issued by the MoD when on the range were not up to the required standard.

Are you left handed Dave ? As for right handed rifle and shotgun shooting folk the right hear is protected by the weapons butt leaving the left ear exposed to damage. Although Sten and Bren guns will impact both ears.

Terry


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

I often wondered if working in aircraft production with air rivet guns hammering away around me 50 years ago might have given me cause to try a claim. But who would I claim off?

Ray.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Thanks all.

Chris was very impressed with the service he got. I have talked to him about the NHS but, as the audiologist told him that they were "not as good" he is wavering towards the private ones. They are re-chargable and discreet.
Of course, we have to factor in that Chris is a sales person's dream client. If he feels he has taken up *any* of their time then he will pay full price for what they are selling. This is where I step in.

Which? surveys have shown that people were reasonably happy with NHS hearing aids but that the choice was very limited. The after sales service was not so good but we expect that now.

Chris was offered aids that will automatically tune in to conversations in busy environments like a pub gathering. There were better ones available that she would have recommended if he attended business meetings and needed even more directional clarity. He says that he could hear every key stroke that she made on her computer once they were fitted. He seems very excited to have such clarity of hearing and I think it will be hard to persuade him to go elsewhere after that demonstration.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

raynipper said:


> I often wondered if working in aircraft production with air rivet guns hammering away around me 50 years ago might have given me cause to try a claim. But who would I claim off?
> 
> Ray.


If you were in a trade union Ray, they very often took the lead and advised members as to the likelihood of a successful claim and some, like my FiLs shipyard union, recommended a solicitor.

The company settled before going to court, although eventually the solicitor in question was charged with fraud and struck off by the Law Society for keeping a larger share of the claims that he had successfully won. You can't trust anyone. :surprise:

Terry


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

patp said:


> Thanks all.
> 
> Chris was very impressed with the service he got. I have talked to him about the NHS but, as the audiologist told him that they were "not as good" he is wavering towards the private ones. They are re-chargable and discreet.
> Of course, we have to factor in that Chris is a sales person's dream client. If he feels he has taken up *any* of their time then he will pay full price for what they are selling. This is where I step in.
> ...


With any aid there will be certain sounds that come through much clearer. I hear the clocks ticking and the birds whistling clearly. I also can hear my wifes voice above the general hubbub of multiple conversations. But not clear enough to understand what she is saying. Like the mumbling of the radio thats always on and I have to turn off to take phone calls.

Ray.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

raynipper said:


> With any aid there will be certain sounds that come through much clearer. I hear the clocks ticking and the birds whistling clearly. I also can hear my wifes voice above the general hubbub of multiple conversations. *But not clear enough to understand what she is saying*. Like the mumbling of the radio thats always on and I have to turn off to take phone calls.
> 
> Ray.


Yep I use that excuse as well. :wink2:

Terry


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## Spacerunner (Mar 18, 2006)

Penquin said:


> For those resident in France 🇫🇷 the situation is due to change as regards support for aids next January.
> 
> The current minimal support is on a sliding scale this year with 100% support from the Social Security wed January 2020. The Mutuelles are also being required to pay 100% of the approved fee so that may make a difference next January......
> 
> ...


Doubtful if the weapons you mentioned would have caused permanent hearing damage as they are all low velocity weapons.
Personal weapon hearing loss really increased with the issue of high velocity weapons starting with the 7.62 SLR.
In the beginning the effect on hearing of these high velocity , although understood, was not really appreciated. 
Most deafness caused by the SLR is in the left ear because the cartridge ejection is on the right side of the rifle. The resulting 'bang' effects not the user but the guy to his right who's left ear gets the full impact.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

raynipper said:


> With any aid there will be certain sounds that come through much clearer. I hear the clocks ticking and the birds whistling clearly. I also can hear my wifes voice above the general hubbub of multiple conversations. But not clear enough to understand what she is saying. Like the mumbling of the radio thats always on and I have to turn off to take phone calls.
> 
> Ray.


The new, digital, re-chargeable, aids are said to address all those issues. Chris was told that a full money back 3 month guarantee is in place if he is not happy with the results. I think they must be fairly confident that the patient is going to be impressed.

Just spoke to a friend who's mother is fitted with "the best" NHS aids. She says she is not impressed.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Pat, I have a pair of the Siemens Motion MPX rechargeable aids that originally cost about £3.5k. My cost was less than £600 as they were 18 months old.
The rechargeable batteries are very expensive and a pain to keep plugging them in when regular batteries are so cheap online and carrying spares is easy.
They have the very small micro tubes but somehow don't have the volume of my other Oticom aids which have the larger tubes and proper ear plugs. 

Ray.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Just found another use for PTFE tape.

As and when the hearing aids start to whistle it's often because the shape of our ears changes over time and the plugs don't fit snugly.
While I'm waiting for a visit to the aids shop to have a new mould created, I found wrapping some PTFE tape round the body of the mould can seal the leak.

OK not everyone's lunchtime reading material but might help someone.

Ray.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

I was sent for a hearing exam at the local hospital, it's run by Specsavers staff, they confirmed I had tinnitus and gave me a pair of aids, they were way too sensitive for me so they went into a drawer, liz is always asking me what someone said on TV, I have the volume down low too.


I don't understand how putting more noise in my head would help with tinnitus.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

They sound marvellous Kev. Gimmee first option if your going to dispose of em.

Ray.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Kev, I think the word they use is "masking".


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

They made no difference other than they amplified every other sound, incredibly annoying, I think we may have binned them when we moved.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Go find em Kev.

Ray.


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## ChrisandJohn (Feb 3, 2008)

raynipper said:


> Go find em Kev.
> 
> Ray.


Are you aiming for the national collection of hearing aids, Ray? :smile2:

Chris


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

You can't have too many Chris. Always travel with a spare just in case. Without one life becomes very difficult.

Ray.


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