Need hearing aid Help for MIL

[Liveinthepresent]

Hi - We are struggling to help MiL find a hearing aid that best improves her hearing.
She has almost total deafness in one ear and the other isn't far behind. Caused by Meunieres disease.
She has been using hearing aids for I think about 10 years.
In the time she has spent a fortune it seems on unreliable products sold to her privately. They break frequently and she pays more for repairs.
Recently she decided to try and see what help she would get from NHS - this was good in that they told her she may as well not use one in the ear with practically no hearing - but the aid they gave her for the other ear squeaks a lot.
So she has now decided to save up another £1500 to go back to the original shop and get a new one.
Does anyone know how we make sure she really is getting the best advice and isn't being 'sold' to.
Is this normal and are the products always unreliable.
Any experience greatly appreciated- she has just visited for the weekend and it's so sad watching how much she struggles to keep up or join in with conversation.
Thanks

[LineRunnyEgg]

Sorry, you posted this ages ago.

I think that somewhere like Boots offer a service that is at least open to an audit trail and reputable.

[CallOfTheRiled]

I wear hearing aids and have done since my early 20s. I have paid for them privately in the past. In my opinion the NHS are as good as privately bought ones, unless your MIL is wearing an aid that is 'hidden' in the ear (I don't think these are available on the NHS). I have always been told that the squeaking or whistling is due to poorly fitted ear moulds, or excess wax. It might be worth going back to the hearing aid clinic and asking them to make new moulds and see if this helps.

[stewartlaura67]

There are many factors to consider when choosing a specific brand or style of hearing aid. The most important include the degree and type of your hearing loss, the physical shape and size of your ears and your lifestyle. Each brand has strengths and weakness, so it is important to choose a brand whose strengths compliment your needs. Your audiologist can provide guidance as to which hearing aid will meet your needs best.

[Littlemissexpecting]

Nhs aids are probably better than the aids she is buying privately tbh at 1500pound. The only benefit of private is the choice of styles (in the ear, behind the ear, smaller, choice of colour etc).
I would go back to the nhs and see what they can do with the whistling one. It could be something really simple to stop it.
Can you go with her? Perseverance is key to hearing aids I'm afraid they take time to get used to but should never be uncomfortable. If you think hearing has changed ask to be reassessed. If she does want to go privately looking on bshaa will give you a list of recommended private dispensers. Price greatly varies, specsavers and boots do deals 2 for 1 etc including batteries, hidden hearing rip off, some independents good some not so good. What nhs aid has she got just now?

[FrustratedSycamoresRocks]

The NHS audiologists can stop this whistling quite easily (sometimes the aid whistles rather than the mould, caused by feedback) takes about 2 minutes. Can you take it to a hearing-aid clinic?