Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

Thread for those of us that are deaf/hard of hearing?

986 replies

flamingo40 · 04/09/2021 17:45

I've looked through the health topics and can't find any particular areas for those of us who are deaf or hard of hearing to turn to if we are after advice or just fancy a chat with people who are in the same situation?
I guess I'm asking firstly if I'm missing something or secondly if there isn't an area we can go to would this be something Mumsnet would think about adding?

Having been hard of hearing for years and now a permanent hearing aid wearer I'd love you get help and advice and talk about experiences to other people

OP posts:
Thread gallery
27
Splodgerbodgerbadger · 17/02/2023 16:26

Hi can I join? I’ve got hearing loss in my right ear after having lots of infections. They said I’ve got mixed hearing loss and I really struggle when there is background noise despite having good hearing in my other ear.

I went last week to have a mould taken and it will be at least a couple of months until it’s ready. I’m sure I will have some questions then.

SuziLikeSuziQ · 17/02/2023 17:09

Violinist64 · 15/02/2023 21:43

I have had a problem with my left hearing aid. The right one has a bulb but the left one has a mould as it fits the ear better as l have had major operations in that ear. However, it is an old mould and the tubing constantly slips out. I have been worried that that l might lose the aid altogether. It came to a head the other day so l took it to our local private hearing centre as it would be weeks before I could have anything done at the hospital. The private audiologist tried to suggest l buy new hearing aids but I said I was perfectly happy with the ones I have. However, he said that he would be able to make me a new mould with a tube attached to it. It is just under £300 but will be worth it for peace of mind. He will also retune the aids if needed. I think they need to be made louder.

How recently was the tubing changed? When tubing gets old it gets less pliant and slips out more easily.

StuntNun · 22/02/2023 05:22

Does anyone have CROS hearing aids? I currently only wear a hearing aid in my left ear as my right ear still has normal hearing. However my left ear has recently progressed to profound hearing loss and my hearing aid isn't making much difference any more apart from high-pitched noises like the doorbell. I'm wondering whether a CROS might be the logical next step.

ToDuk · 22/02/2023 06:53

@StuntNun I work with deaf children and have had several who were given a CROS aid. Nor one kept using it for more than a week. Each one found it a nuisance to wear an aid in their good ear and felt like it didn't give them enough benefit to make it worth having, unfortunately.

StuntNun · 22/02/2023 07:22

Thanks @ToDuk yes I've heard bad reviews which is why I asked about it. I have two problems: hearing passengers in the car when I'm driving; and having to sit to the left of everybody else in meetings. If a CROS hearing aid would help those issues then I would be very keen to have one. My mum has a BICROS system but that's not quite the same thing. I'm lucky enough to have one ear with normal hearing but the head shadow effect causes me a lot of difficulties day to day. Also, it's not the worst thing but my DH also has hearing loss in his left ear and normal hearing in his right ear so when we sit side by side only one of us can hear the other properly!

ToDuk · 22/02/2023 08:10

It sounds like maybe you would benefit then. You wouldn't have to wear it all the time, you could just wear it when you needed to. Worth talking to Audiology about it probably.

StuntNun · 22/02/2023 14:11

Thanks again @ToDuk I have an audiogram scheduled next month.

SuziLikeSuziQ · 23/02/2023 15:27

@StuntNun Can you try a Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA)? It is a single device on your deaf side so you don't need a hearing aid on your good side. You can try it without surgery to start with to see how you get on. Is it something your NHS trust does?

StuntNun · 23/02/2023 18:52

Thanks for the recommendation @SuziLikeSuziQ I have no idea. At the moment I have a bog standard basic NHS aid. I don't know how you get the fancy stuff. My mum and my DH can access theirs through apps and change the volume but mine doesn't even have a T loop.

Sunflower101 · 24/02/2023 14:46

Question for you guys, has anyone experience of the Roger listening device? I have severe hearing loss with two mould hearing aids that I bought privately. My audiologist suggested that I obtain a Roger device through Access to work. Anyone been through the process of using this government fund?

SuziLikeSuziQ · 24/02/2023 17:00

Sunflower101 · 24/02/2023 14:46

Question for you guys, has anyone experience of the Roger listening device? I have severe hearing loss with two mould hearing aids that I bought privately. My audiologist suggested that I obtain a Roger device through Access to work. Anyone been through the process of using this government fund?

Yep, I've gone through AtW for a Roger Pen and table mic. I really loved the system and found it so useful at home and work. I could get phone calls through my hearing aids!! The only thing is remembering to keep the devices charged and your hearing aid batteries will drain more quickly with the receivers on!

Sadly, it's not compatible with my new aids so I'll have to go through the process again to get a connect clip. But I can recommend the Roger system.

SuziLikeSuziQ · 24/02/2023 17:03

StuntNun · 23/02/2023 18:52

Thanks for the recommendation @SuziLikeSuziQ I have no idea. At the moment I have a bog standard basic NHS aid. I don't know how you get the fancy stuff. My mum and my DH can access theirs through apps and change the volume but mine doesn't even have a T loop.

The kind of aids you get will most likely depend on your NHS trust. Some prefer different makes to others etc. It's annoying it's a bit of a lottery, though. You should be able to get a T-loop setting on them at least; I don't know if any digital aids that can't connect to a T-loop.

You'd need to have a chat with your audiologist about the options they can give you.

FictionalCharacter · 24/02/2023 17:08

Sunflower101 · 24/02/2023 14:46

Question for you guys, has anyone experience of the Roger listening device? I have severe hearing loss with two mould hearing aids that I bought privately. My audiologist suggested that I obtain a Roger device through Access to work. Anyone been through the process of using this government fund?

I have one, but atw didn’t cover the costs, my employer had to pay. It’s brilliant and has changed my life at work. Without it I cannot use the phone, do Teams calls or hear people in meetings.

StuntNun · 24/02/2023 17:26

I don't think I have a digital aid @SuziLikeSuziQ but it's five years old so maybe they weren't around then.

Violinist64 · 24/02/2023 20:04

I have my new mould and it is great. It is much more comfortable than the old one and l can wear it without fear of losing my hearing aid - it was always falling out before. The audiologist also showed me how to use Bluetooth for zoom - it was actually ridiculously easy but I teach it few pupils on zoom and it is a game changer.

SuziLikeSuziQ · 24/02/2023 20:05

StuntNun · 24/02/2023 17:26

I don't think I have a digital aid @SuziLikeSuziQ but it's five years old so maybe they weren't around then.

Digital aids have been around longer than 5 years!

I'm intrigued. Did you specifically request an analogue hearing aid? Which NHS Trust are you with, if you don't mind sharing? I assumed all NHS aids were now digital.

I'd arrange to go back to audiology and speak to them about it.

Violinist64 · 24/02/2023 20:17

I had an NHS digital aid in around 2008. I would be very surprised if one from five years ago was analogue.

ToDuk · 24/02/2023 20:24

I wonder if @StuntNun you mean you don't have a Bluetooth aid rather than a digital?

The BAHA is for a conductive loss so whether you can have one would depend on what kind of loss you have. Worth asking at audiology.

@SuziLikeSuziQ what kind of aid do you have now? Would an edumic work? We are using those a lot now.

SuziLikeSuziQ · 24/02/2023 20:52

@ToDuk A Connect Clip is what goes with my new aids.

StuntNun · 25/02/2023 06:01

Oh maybe it is digital then. They didn't give me any information when I got it, just handed it to me and sent me on my way. It took me ages to work out how to put it in. It doesn't connect to anything, have a volume control or a t-loop button so it's really basic. I wasn't given any other option. I didn't know about cleaning the tubing or that there was a clinic to get new tubing or how to get it repaired or that I could make an appointment with them for a new audiogram so I've been struggling with it for years.

crazycycle · 25/02/2023 06:53

I have a CROS hearing aid. My left ear has profound hearing loss. After trying all the alternatives via spec savers I got referred to audiology at the hospital and they provided me the CROS on nhs.

It is good, have to wear two aids (one receiver and one amplifier). Helps a bit with picking up people speaking on my left. But sense of direction is all over the place as the sound is played in the aid in my right ear.

only just discovered this thread. So glad I’m not the only one mid thirties struggling. I find socialising very difficult now and large meetings at work very tricky unless on Teams. Sometimes after a full day concentrating in the office or at a conference I come home and just need to lie in a dark room with no sound to decompress!

SuziLikeSuziQ · 25/02/2023 07:44

StuntNun · 25/02/2023 06:01

Oh maybe it is digital then. They didn't give me any information when I got it, just handed it to me and sent me on my way. It took me ages to work out how to put it in. It doesn't connect to anything, have a volume control or a t-loop button so it's really basic. I wasn't given any other option. I didn't know about cleaning the tubing or that there was a clinic to get new tubing or how to get it repaired or that I could make an appointment with them for a new audiogram so I've been struggling with it for years.

Sadly, there is absolutely a gap in care/education for adults who receive hearing aids for the first time.

I'm a Teacher of Deaf Children and Young People and we are regularly checking pupils' hearing aids and changing tubing etc. But before I became a ToD I had my hearing aids for about 5 years and didn't know about new tubing or much about cleaning. Then Covid stopped the hearing aid clinics and really, who wants to post their hearing aid to Audiology and be without it for a couple of weeks?

Regarding the T-loop, you must have volume or programme buttons on your aid? Do you know what make/model of aid it is? It should hopefully be written on it somewhere!

Cafog · 25/02/2023 12:22

@SuziLikeSuziQ are your new hearing aids Oticon branded? If so I'm nearly certain you can buy shoes and receivers to make them compatible with your Roger device if you really love it.

StuntNun · 25/02/2023 20:40

I found the instruction manual for my hearing aid! It's an Oticon Spirit Synergy. It has two buttons that look like they should be volume up and down but they have been deactivated.

ToDuk · 25/02/2023 20:54

@StuntNun great, definitely digital then! At your appointment you could ask for volume and the loop programme to be activated, although you could also ask for an upgrade to Bluetooth!

Also ask them for some spare tubes then you can easily retube at home when needed.

@Cafog you're right about the shoes. The Edumic or Connect clip probably have a better sound though.