Hearing aids that aren’t NHS

[WildFlowerBees]

My 80yr old dad has been having his hearing aids via Specsavers, Insignia I believe. Trouble is he’s become a lot more reluctant to be sociable because he can’t hear conversations in rooms with other noise, talking etc. He’s had relevant upgrades with his hearing checks, been back to talk to them but still nothing really helps.

Is there a hearing aid that is better than the ones the NHS gives out that might suit him better? Thank you.

My Bluetooth nhs ones are rechargeable! TBH I’d rather have batteries because they are now losing their charge after about 8 hours which is a pita. With batteries you just replace them, not have to remove to recharge the bloody things!

Interesting- thx @ToDuk

Thank you. This is a very timely thread for me, as I'm just at the start of considering hearing aids.

It's wonderful to get the benefit of so much MN wisdom to learn the nitty gritty, not just the marketing version!

Ok fair enough if your recently provided nhs aids were not Bluetooth. I am very surprised though because we’ve been fitting Bluetooth as standard since 2021/22. I know we were fairly early to this but thought that all aids fitted in 2026 would be Bluetooth unless there was a very unusual clinical reason to go with older model eg someone couldn’t use Bluetooth and needed certain button controls.

Because people were on 3 year care pathways which government then lengthened to 5 year care pathways some people will still have older models (manufacturers tell us hearing aids generally last 6-7 years with maintenance) Depends when their upgrade is due. .

If you have anything other than a standard hearing loss (and maybe even then) the key factor in success with aids is the skill of your audiologist and their ability to work with you over time to get a good result. The NHS can be good but often they just don't have the time or the funds, and you don't necessarily get the same audiologist every time. Private audiologists are not necessarily better but they are working under fewer constraints.

I always think that getting hearing aids is similar to getting an artificial limb - it's a lot better than nothing but it's not remotely the same as what you had originally. Having it fitted to your specific requirements and learning to use it is critical. If you expect it to be like getting a pair of glasses then you'll likely be disappointed.

I have Phonak on nhs.

Thank you, his are NHS he just has them through Specsavers, he’s due a new hearing test and they’ve told him the next upgrade will likely be Bluetooth. He wears them most of the time but not all day everyday. I had lunch with him yesterday no background noise or others around just us at home and he still struggled to hear some of the things I was saying. He’s frustrated because he feels it’s curtailed his social life. Interesting that private is no better than NHS.

Mine have different settings and adjustments via bluetooth but still pick up background noise.

Just jumping in on here (sorry, cheeky hijack) to say I am pretty sure I will need hearing aids in the next few years, as older sister and mum did. My question to those advising on here is, if you have tinnitus too, does an in-ear aid make it worse? (I have had to change to over-ear headphones in recent years because of this).

I do like Oticon but the problem with my model is they're not on the loop so I can't benefit from eg theatre sound. I have to take mine out usually at the theatre because of the type of hearing loss I have, it makes clapping quite painful. Sometimes I just pop out the domes whenever it starts but it's a bit like getting intermittent electric shocks - it's not that it's unbearable but it's not generally a welcome part of a night out.

So I leave them out and then I can't hear the actors very well, of course, as I'm usually in a cheap seat too far away to lip read 😂

I really miss the loop!! My previous private aids didn't have them either. I only had them on my old old aids when I was little and it was magical! In that way technology has regressed. I like bluetooth and getting podcasts in my ears of course, but I do wish it had the loop. I can't really grasp why any hearing aids are made without telecoil.

@mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork for a lot of people hearing aids cure tinnitus. You'll find out when you get fitted.

The amplification dulls the intrusiveness of tinnitus ime.

The NHS provides some really good state-of-the-art aids, and I'm envious of everyone who can use them.

The thing to understand is not everyone has the same type of hearing loss, so asking for recommendations won't solve the problem, e.g., Phonak receives a lot of positive reviews, but the sound they produce doesn't suit me at all. I use Widex and Oticon, but there are many others.

The advantage of paying for private aids is the ability to try them for 60 days with option of a full refund if they're not right for you. I buy my aids from https://www.hearingaid.org.uk and can't fault them on price and, more importantly, customer service. (No connection, etc.) I trialled three HAs without any problem before I found the ones that suited my hearing loss.

In terms of background noise, my Widex aids have different settings to almost mute those sounds.

Also, and this is subjective, I prefer aids which use batteries over the rechargeable ones. If you use a charger, it's just one more thing to think about in an already busy life. Batteries last about a week and can be changed in seconds.

IME, hearing aids help to ignore tinnitus.

I have Phonak rechargeable hearing aids (private). I have cookie bite hearing loss and my hearing aids have greatly enhanced my quality of life.
They also help with tinnitus (for me anyway).

Thanks to all who answered my query about tinnitus - that is very encouraging!

Specsavers can provide NHS hearing aids in some areas:

https://www.specsavers.co.uk/hearing/hearing-aids/nhs-hearing-aids

I have NHS hearing aids and have no problems with them.
there is a button on them to switch between ‘close conversation’ and ‘normal’, tbh I forget to use the ‘close conversation’ button as they work fine for me on normal mode, but this may help your dad if he has that option.

my mum has private hearing aids (she paid thousands) and constantly has problems with them and always seems to not hear properly.

@Kelim is that not just a settings issue? For our aids the aud can put on the loop setting from what I remember. Maybe depends on the aids but I think that's what happens for ours. Probably @Diorama2 can help on this.

My mum had Phonak hearing aids that kept falling out. She had them adjusted a number of times and still had one that she was always in danger of losing. In the end she saw an independent audiologist and paid a fortune for Starkey hearing aids, which don’t fall out and sound better. The support was better too.

It won't be because she paid more that the aids don't fall out. It will be the type of mould and size.

I haven’t RTFT but I would disagree that private is always better.

I have a private hearing aid which sits inside my right ear and is moulded to its shape. It’s not particularly noticeable but I paid £2k for it. It is rechargeable in a case like you’d charge your phone.

recently I started losing hearing in my other ear so went for NHS hearing aid for that. It’s just as effective but it’s over the ear (but very small and discreet) and you have to replace the batteries every few weeks.

So you have some options privately but they’re not necessarily better.

I saw these advertised at my optician and I was amazed! Are they new / do they work well?

I don’t think anyone knows why they couldn’t or didn’t manage to make the Phonak ones fit but if you go back over and over and they can’t fit them correctly it doesn’t really matter why, they can’t work if they’re not in your ears.

After it fell out the final time my mum made the appointment with the private audiologist, who got it right. She didn’t necessarily want an expensive new pair of aids but it was during covid and she was staying with us and only had one hearing aid.

She prefers the sound quality of the Starkeys but that’s probably a personal choice.

All the aids I’ve worked with have the option for the loop to be added, but maybe there are some that don’t. But I’ve never known it to be a default setting so the audiologist has to add it as a programme. So if you want the loop maybe make an appointment and see if it is possible to have it added.