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

[flamingo40]

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

Thanks @ToDuk I had a quick appointment yesterday and had a retainer wire fitted which has stopped the tubing from coming out of my ear canal. I have another appointment on the 8th for an audiogram so I'll see what they say then. I wouldn't be surprised if they just change the settings on the hearing aid I have though. I might end up having to go private to get anything better; I also have a Specsavers appointment booked so I'll see whether they can offer me anything.

That's so strange that they've been deactivated!

@StuntNun maybe you will need to go private but worth an ask!

@purpleme12 it does seem odd, doesn't it? They do it for some of our children, until they're old enough to manage the volume themselves, but it seems odd to do it for an adult.

The really weird thing is that I used to have fluctuating hearing loss so a volume control would have been particularly useful. Since the episode I had in November I seem to have lost a lot of hearing though and now it's persistently bad.

Does anyone have experience of trying to use the headsets for staff communications in shops? I’ve been in my new job for almost 5 months and can’t use the headset because (a) it’s too large for my tiny head and the earphone is somewhere round my earlobe even on its tightest setting and (b) even if it was in the right place it would be nowhere near the microphone on my hearing aids. This means I have to contact a supervisor with a walkie talkie if I need to ask a question, which seems a bit Heath Robinson.

I did contact Connevans as they were helpful in my previous job and provided me with a Connect Clip which I still have. But their response was ‘contact the manufacturer’ which isn’t exactly in my remit, and my immediate managers aren’t exactly technically aware either. 🤷‍♀️ Ideas anyone?

I’ve had my NHS Phonak aids for several years. They’re neither digital nor Bluetooth. I’m so envious of everyone who has the more modern devices.

I am grateful for the help my aids give me but wish I didn’t have to remove them every time I want to make a phone call, listen to my audio books, watch TV etc. I’m forever swapping in and out.

How do you know if your hearing aids are digital?
I assumed mine are but I'm curious now what with the previous posts?

Very very few NHS hearing aids are analogue nowadays. If your aids needed to be tuned to your personal settings via a computer when you first got them, and if they have different settings for different situations, then they are digital. The analogue ones aren’t tuned to your specific loss; they just come in standard and powerful. They are also a bit rubbish, though some older folk may still prefer them.

Bluetooth is something else, to do with the way various devices connect to each other wirelessly. Some digital hearing aids have Bluetooth but many don’t.

I had Oticon Spirit Synergy up till last year! Yes, ask for the buttons to be activated and the T-loop. You can also get receivers and external aids to allow you to connect to your phone and computer etc.!

@Cafog Easier to have no receivers and one device with no wires, is what I'm hoping. If I had an iPhone I wouldn't even need the Connect Clip! It's only a shame about the Pen because I need to go through AtW rather than being able to either use just the Pen as is or actually just connect to my Android phone without an external device.

@ThomasinaGallico Can you go through Access to Work and see what they advise? They might have a solution.

What have you got, @purpleme12 ?

@Tallisimo Can you ask your GP to be referred back to audiology for a hearing review? You are way overdue and may well find that they just give you new ones. That is what happened to me. When was your hearing last tested?

Hi all, I haven't posted for ages, but was right here at the start of the thread.

I suffer from tinnitus - all the time and very loud. I asked my GP in November/December about being referred again to the audiology clinic, but she said it's around a 2-year waiting list and so she'd send me for a hearing test first which I had right at the start of the year. As per the audiology consultant, I don't hear high-pitched sounds very well (so no change in at least 10 years), but the Specsavers chap said hearing aids might help the tinnitus. Well, I've been using the aids for about 6 weeks and it hasn't helped with the tinnitus at all, but I can hear better, so I'm really pleased. The aids are the normal behind-the-ear type, and I wear them all day during the week, but if I don't go out at the weekends, I don't put them on.

Hi can I join in?

My husband had been wearing the same hearing aids for five years so when our daughter got some fancy new ones with Bluetooth on the NHS he got severe HA envy 😂. His audiologist (different hospital) said they don’t do them so he got referred to another one. Turns out his hearing loss has changed massively from mild/moderate to severe/profound.

Anyway he got his new hearing aids today - Ambio 77 - and it appears there are some very reasonably priced streaming accessories to go with them. Does anyone have any experience of these? There are considerably cheaper than the Roger branded stuff, and considering he applied for AtW three months ago and hasn’t heard anything, we could just about manage to buy the Danalogic bits and pieces ourselves.

@FlatWhiteExtraHot where do you get these accessories from? I should be very interested to browse them

@themuttsnutts www.danalogic.co.uk/wireless-accessories

Thanks @FlatWhiteExtraHot

Whoever it was who said the analogue aids are awful is wrong. They aren’t awful at all. And they are tuned, up to a point, for your own needs. They DO do a good job. But they are simply not as sophisticated as digital aids and can’t be adapted.to different situations in the same was as those with Bluetooth connectivity. Some health authorities offer the new tech but a lot have yet to catch up. My HA sadly falls into the latter category. At my last check-up about 8 months ago (waste of time as my ears were full of wax and the audiologist wasn’t particularly helpful) I was told the region might be getting Bluetooth in 2023 but they didn’t know for sure, and didn’t know when. It’s a real postcode lottery!

Just to add: I’m going to email the audiology department and ask if there’s any progress and if I can be considered for a new test (wax-free ears 😂 ) and Bluetooth kit?

Are you sure you're talking about analogue there @Tallisimo and not just digital without Bluetooth? I've been a ToD for 15 years and have never seen an analogue aid in that time.

I just googled and read this:
16 April 2003
Digital hearing aids for all on NHS
Digital hearing aids will be made publicly available in England by April 2005.

Good move to email audiology though. It's a shame they didn't automatically offer you a new appointment when your wax had cleared up.

Hello, I had hearing aids on the NHS years ago but could not get on with them but now realise that my hearing is getting worse and really need to do something about it.

I would probably go private as I am going on holiday in 3 weeks and would love to be able to get something sorted before then if that is possible.

I am sure every where is different but would Specsavers or Boots be the best place to start with a hearing test? Also is it like glasses that you can take your prescription to the cheapest or best place that has what you need?

Sorry about all the questions but I find it all a bit confusing but think I would prefer something that just sits in the ear.

I've been an Amplifon customer for a long time - they swallowed up smaller hearing aid companies over the years. They only do hearing, not glasses as well, and I've always been happy with them. Is there one near you?

PS I think hearing aid fitting is more sophisticated than spectacle fitting - there's no 'prescription' as such, but an audiogram which the dispenser looks at and recommends - from their knowledge and experience- the aids that would best suit your loss, bearing in mind your preferences eg behind the ear or in the ear, one aid or two, etc.
3 weeks might be pushing it but if you can get a new customer appointment in next couple of days it might be possible!

I came onto the thread to say that, as a hearing impaired (high tone loss) person who lives alone, I became aware that I have no chance of hearing my smoke alarms at night with my aids off, but it turns out my local fire service can refer to a specialist team who are coming out to fit a vibrating pillow pad which connects wirelessly to the smoke alarm and will protect me from sleeping through a house fire! I'm quite excited 😊

After 8 years of wearing aids and being quite proud, I've recently been feeling resentful about the fact I have to wear them.

Anyone else been in that position? Did you get over it? Did anything help you feel better again?

I have a vibrating pad attached to my alarm clock because I can't hear the alarm beeps. I'm not at the stage of needing one for door/smoke alarm yet but I know how much of a difference the vibrating ones can make. I'm glad you'll be safe at night!