Are there any hearing aids for elderly parents that work well and feel comfortable?

My mum says the rechargable ones she got from Amazon are better than her NHS ones. They really help...when she wears them 🙄

NHS ones are just as good a private ones but, there is a waiting list so the sooner you get on it, the better.

My MIL bought privately at great expense for years then finally 'admitted defeat' and got NHS ones, she couldn't tell the difference.

I have hearing aids via Specsavers that were free on the NHS. I have an app on my phone so I can adjust them and prioritise speech in restaurants etc.

My DH went to Specsavers, an NHS appointment, and walked out the same day wearing hearing aids. No charge. Excellent hearing aids controlled by a phone app.

You can get individually tuned hearing aids online if you pay a bit extra. I have Ceretone Beacon which were around £550. Each ear is tuned separately and there is an app with change of settings for restaurant, outdoors in nature etc. They are life changing. I was borderline mild loss but have auditory processing disorder. You may need something a bit more for severe hearing loss.

Yes, of course the NHS has hearing services and offers hearing aids. I’m wearing a pair now! I requested an appointment with my GP who ran basic tests and then referred me to audiology at my local hospital. I didn’t have a long wait and the free aids I was supplied with have been lifesavers. I know experiences regarding speed and service can differ from area to area, but it’s definitely worth giving it a go.

My experience of the NHS is pretty good, a little wait to get the hearing test (often outsourced to Specsavers, worth checking in your area), then actual hearing aids about 4 weeks later, free batteries and follow-up tune up.

it is a bit uncomfortable having something in your ear canal until you are used to them, it worth persevering for the social impact and the reduction in dementia risk

The audiology services and the hearing aids they now supply on the NHS are very good where I live. The ones you get on the internet are not tuned to a person’s specific hearing loss- it’s not just a matter of turning everything up. An individual, for instance, may have problems in hearing higher frequency sounds and properly tuned hearing aids will enhance those frequencies and leave the others at a lower volume. In my experience ( elderly relatives and a career with close contact with audiology services,) private hearing aids are a right rip off. My DF had private aids and they seem to spend more time being repaired than in his ears, they were rechargeable and the chargers kept going wrong and the batteries failing too. He now has a pair of Phonak blue tooth aids from the NHS and he can hear so much better with them and they were free!

My relative was 90ish when they got theirs, tiny little things which they used to lose constantly. They used to complain that they could hear what was being said the other side of the room rather than what the person talking to them was saying. Crowded rooms were a nightmare. I think really, they waited to long to get them so the sounds were unsettling. It was certainly a complete waste of several thousand pounds anyway! They’d been losing their hearing for so long they were a quite proficient lip reader. They lost them completely after about 6mths, so were not a great success here.

Yes, the NHS still do hearing aids, but be prepared for lots of wasted time in numerous appointments and long delays etc. (My experience).

In some areas, you can get NHS hearing aids via Specsavers, which (again my experience) is a lot smoother/more efficient procedure, fewer appointments, etc., and you get the same standard of hearing aids as the NHS audiology dept at your local hospital.

My first two aids were via the local hospital. First time was over six months between initial GP referral and working/properly set hearing aids. Second time, again, local hospital, was a bit quicker, but still 3/4 months and probably 3/4 appointments. Latest time was Specsavers - one appointment that did the consultation, hearing test and issued the hearing aids, with just one follow up appointment to "tweak" the settings a couple of weeks later - far smoother and better aids too!

My mum spent 4500 on hers but could have got very similar and the same brand on the NHS just not quite as top end according to her audiologist. She is almost completely deaf and had soft silicone moulds made specially for her.

the reason she went private is that under the NHS all follow up appointments have to be at the hospital, she’s 90 and can afford them and preferred the convenience of the audiologist.

he should go to the GP and get a referral. I’ve literally spent about 30 hours at the audiologist over the last year due to various issues, trust me, there’s a solution to everything.

mums come from Oticon