Does anyone wear a hearing aid / or have partner with one?

[Indigoo03]

Just wondering how practical they are? How costly are they ? Information on the internet appears confusing as i am not sure if monthly subscription?

If working in an office how does that feel too for someone under 45....or any age for that matter...

I’ve had mine about two weeks. Lots of things sound tinny and the batteries are not long lasting. But, they’re the only things I’ve got that I haven’t had to pay for, so if I persevere, I’ll look into paying for more sophisticated ones later. My cataract procedure cost me £4000 and my dentist £1600, so I’m not inclined to spend any more money just now.

@Bluevelvetsofa Though tinny is it better than before? Do you work in office or retired? I am high frequency moderate loss , what is yours?

I wear hearing aids now since the summer.They are the bte ones via nhs but quite discreet.The thing is I don’t like wearing my hair up though with them and I find I’m poking them back into my ear most of the day !
I looked at some ine ones at specsavers that look like AirPods but cost £2700 :-( my dh thinks they would be even more obvious for me and my feelings than the other ones.
Its very strange as I accept I need them as can hear so much more with them and notice it when I take them out, but I can’t accept that people will see them🤷🏼‍♀️I guess also as I’m not 50 yet , some colleagues are quite surprised!

Two tips:

1. Shop around, costs vary enormously.

2. Don't leave the aids on a bedside table or easily accessible surface. My DC's dog has so far eaten three, at a cost of many thousands of pounds.

No idea about company medical plans, but the NHS supply exactly the same hearing aids as those supplied privately. They get them at a massively reduced cost from the suppliers because of NHS buying power and the models are renamed when supplied to the NHS. There isn't such a wide choice but for each type of hearing loss there's an NHS model the same as the ones supplied privately.
I have HAs for severe hearing loss. Couldn't cope at work without them. No HA can restore normal hearing and there are annoying aspects.
Yes you do have to wait but I guess that how long depends on your local hospital.

Severe to profound dearness in both ears, since birth. Been wearing aids since I was 10yrs. I’m59 now so I’ve run the whole gamut from clunky beige NHS jobs to sleek, Bluetooth, digital, rechargeable Phonaks.

i did have a period when younger when I just was fed up of wearing them, but tbh it’s exhausting not being able to hear. Utterly exhausting. So I wear them pretty much all the time now that i am old and sensible.

Yep. I am in my 30's and started wearing a hearing aids around 8 months ago. I have mild hearing loss, bordering on moderate but it is both high and low frequencies that are affected so I was really struggling with hearing speech!

I bought mine for around £2000 for both sides. I am paying it off in installments over the course of a year. I just wasn't prepared to wait and be seen by the NHS - it was causing too much stress in my life (though I do need to see them for further investigation of the loss). My referral to NHS audiology has been languishing on the NHS app for months. I haven't even made it as far as the waiting list yet 🤯

Anyway, getting hearing aids is life changing. No more struggling to hear and getting in arguments with your loved ones when they are mumbling/calling from a different room. No more feeling exhausted from struggling to hear all day. Less awkward interactions in shops/public transport etc..It's great. You can even get hearing aids that connect wirelessly to your phone and TV now.

You might want to hold off on purchasing though. The Americans have just passed a law that says you don't need a prescription to get a hearing aid so prices are expected to fall soon!

I got mine from Specsavers about 5 years ago and went for red ones. I decided if I had to wear them I was going to make a statement with them!

I’m early 40s and wear hearing aids, they make my day so much easier! Where I live you can only get the standard nhs ones that go over your ear and aren’t Bluetooth. I found them great for improving my hearing and they were nude coloured so barely noticeable, but hair catching them or face masks really irritated me. I now wear some Bluetooth in ear ones that are more practical. Once they’re in I can barely feel them and nobody really sees them. I can hear conversations much better when I’m in the office.

Ds is just waiting for hearing aids, he has moderate to severe hearing loss that has only just been diagnosed age 18.

I’ve been wearing hearing aids for about 5 years, since my late 30s. Honestly, how they ‘look’ was never a concern for me. The difference they made for me being able to hear properly I’m the office, in busy restaurants and in general was absolutely worth it. I wouldn’t be without them now.

I originally had NHS ones, which were fine but didn’t fit brilliantly (you shouldn’t have to keep popping them back in!) and ran on batteries which was a faff. I went private after a few years and gave rechargeable Bluetooth ones that are connected to my phone now. I love them. Cost me about 4K, but they are under warrantee for 5 yrs and are so much better than my first set. Smaller, better fit (I forget I’m wearing them) and better sound quality.

If you need them, get them.

@Chocchops72 I am interested in Bluetooth enabled aids. What is the advantage for you, to have Bluetooth? Are the aids better anyway?
By the way, my condition is the same as yours.
Thanks.

Definitely no such thing as too young for hearing aids! I'm 20.

I have moderate-severe bilateral hearing loss. Have always had it, but no hearing aids until I was 18. NHS ones at first, which were an improvement, but not good enough - though a lack of follow up meant that they weren't set up correctly for me, so I may being being unfair to them! Now have top of the range Bluetooth Phonak aids and its the best thing I've ever done. I don't like not having them in - I miss so much without. Still not the same as normal hearing, but then I didn't have my loss corected when I was young so my abiity to understand what I hear is perhaps not as good as someone who has previously had good hearing.

I am at uni, in big lecture theatres several times a week as well as on busy hospital wards - I'm sure they'd cope with an office. I have an app on my phone that I can adjust them with. I can also stream music and phone calls which has made a huge difference to understanding on the phone. They cost £2225 for the pair through an online private audiologist. Mine are RICs as I wanted them to be as discrete as possible (smaller bt behind ear and then speaker on a wire in your ear). Most people don't realise that I have them, but equally showing people them helps to prove that I am not being rude by not hearing.

Also there is a strong link between dementia and untreated hearing loss. I used to be very against having hearing aids, but the consultant tellimg me this and some research around it definitely contributed to me trying them.

Hearing loss is severe to profound. Hearing aid since the age of 7 due to hereditary loss. At the moment I have a private aid phonak as NHS only provide a choice of around 2 types for adults due to budget so opted for private at around 1.5k which is fine. I have my own biz and work one to one as I need to see the persons face/lips. I often joke that whatever you say behind my back is none of my biz, but that’s literally true in my case as won’t know what you’re saying anyway! 😂

I have an NHS one for moderate hearing loss. Iwas vhicken the choice of one or two. Chose one as I thought easier to manage.
I don't use it though as it easily comes out and ci hear a lot of loud background noise. It was adjusted when I got it through a computer on site. I should go back to have it fine tuned.
It doesn't work through my iPhone. I'm wondering if it's possible to get a moderner one on the NHS ,🤔

Ah you're lucky ours won't give you a be different colour unless you're a child.
I would have chosen purple!

If you're unsure about all this OP why don't you go through NHS and get them rather than spending money?

As to how it feels for someone under 45 and about if they're worn with pride...

It feels normal! It feels neither here nor there!
If I could get purple ones i would so wear them with pride 😂 but they only do those for children 😂
Hearing aids aren't to do with age. Sure, it's more common when you're older( like many things) but there are many people of all ages who wear them.
They shouldn't be automatically linked to age

I work in an office too

I would say, if you are worried about how they look - people don’t really notice in my experience. They are quite often surprised if I mention them. If I have my hair up they are more noticeable but as I say, people don’t really seem to notice.

However, since I’ve been wearing them myself I’ve spotted them on many others of all ages. I think it’s one of those things you only notice when it becomes relevant to you!

I have NHS ones. They Bluetooth to my phone and work well for me. They help with my tinnitus which was what I went to the GP for in the first place. I really don't like noisy environments and hate loud TV programmes but I don't know whether that is because of my hearing, my hearing aids or just me.

My long hair covers them up but I'm not bothered about anyone knowing I have them.

My DH has worn hearing aids for moderate hearing loss for 20+ years now and is currently using NHS aids.
He has used private ones but reckons that for the money it isn't worth the money.
They are not visible to me, I have to look really hard to see if he's wearing them, he's hopeless at remembering.
His mum used to wear private but has switched to NHS. You can always get an appointment at the hearing clinic, they check his ears and hearing regularly and change the aids on an annual basis. Yes they use batteries but he gets then free through the post.

My hearing loss is minimal really, but I wanted to hear conversations more clearly. I don’t work, but am involved in some voluntary stuff, so need to hear what’s being said. I don’t think the aids are very visible, but I don’t care about that anyway.

This is true that people actually don't see them or realise you're wearing them the VAST majority of the time. You really would be surprised.
I wear my hair up regularly. I totally used to expect people to know I had them just cos I thought they'd see them. Honestly it was really rare that people realised and this was people I worked with all the time. People just don't look that closely at the area.

I have private ones that I've had for about 4 years, I did wear NHS ones for years before that but found them a bit clunky. Wouldn't be without them (although they haven't fixed the tinnitus, sadly).

One important thing to remember is that a hearing loss entitles you to a Disabled rail card which gets around 1/3 off ticket prices, which can be very helpful. I just sent my NHS booklet showing my name and address to prove it. That was a few years ago now so worth checking details now.