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.

No they definitely don't have telecoil. It says in the manual. It's Oticon MiniRITE with bluetooth but no telecoil (those are MiniRITE T)

Cure?
you mean the ‘extra’ sound being picked up by the aids and sent to the ear helps mask tinnitus?

Has he got aids with the app that lets the user focus on all around sound, or more targeted - eg sound coming from in front of you?

DM (90+) has had both specsavers and NHS aids and prefers the NHS.

Hearing aids don't work like glasses. Two people with the same audiogram will find different aids better, this was a surprise to me when I was told I needed hearing aids - they look the same on paper but actually sound so different!

Currently - a lot of people are really impressed with the Phonak Sphere aids or the oticon intent 1 for listening in busy places. The Phonak sphere compared to my NHS aids are literally worlds apart.

As another poster said - any audiologist worth anything will have a 30 or even 60 day complete money back guarantee to enable him to try them out and see if they make a difference and then change his mind and multiple follow up appointments to adjust them.

Another thing to think about is the fact that programming is just as important as the hearing aids themselves. For me - I prefer having the ability for my audiologist to programme them remotely, but others would prefer to go into the office.

Similar here. I had NHS ones twice for around a decade, and was pretty unimpressed with them. I went private around 7 years ago and the difference in both the hearing aids and the hearing test/consultations/adjustments was black and white. Last year, although I was still happy with the private ones, the NHS audiology dept called me for a "review" so I went along, had a hearing test, and they issued a new pair of allegedly "Modern" hearing aids. They're a lot worse than the 7 year old private ones, don't seem to be as "fine tuned" etc. I went back for adjustments but they're no better, so I'm back to using the private ones. The private audiologist did say that the ones issued by the NHS are both older and of a lower specification than the private ones and I believe her given the difference.

Around here, Specsavers have a contract to do NHS hearing tests and issue NHS hearing aids. You can do private via Specsavers if you prefer, but my GP referred me to the local Specsavers rather than the hospital audiology dept saying it would be quicker and more convenient (which it was!).

Not exactly? My tinnitus reduced hugely after getting a specific type of fine tuning and the reduction sticks around when I'm not wearing them. It comes back from time to time but usually when I've been lax with my ears. I know other people have had the same thing. It's a known thing.

But it's a big complicated thing with lots of different experiences! I'm not saying anything about your tinnitus. Everyone's different. A bit like the provision of hearing aid models by regional NHS! 😂

My NHS hearing aid (new last year) isn't bluetooth, but I don't mind because I only use an aid in one ear (just mild hearing loss in the other). It can be adjusted via an app, but I don't have a compatible phone and I don't know how much adjusting can be done. Very happy not to be paying ££££s!

I have phonak Bluetooth aids which are great for using the phone or listening to music I really like them. I’ve only ever had these ones so don’t have any experience with anything else, can’t afford private though