GP vs Boots/Specsavers for hearing test?

[iPreferBooks]

I'm on the fence of whether to trying to book a GP app. or just paying to do a Boots/Specsvers hearing test. Never liked social situations but always assumed it was because of autism (diagnosed). I've pinpointed I can never ever hear people when music is playing loudly in the background in places like pubs/bars/restaurants, and because I don't like those environments from a sensory/anxiety perspective I tend to avoid them anyway. When I've been with other people in loud places recently they all yell/talk loudly and they all seem to be able to follow the conversation as they're nodding their heads, but I can't at all. I had to use my phone to type what I wanted to order at the bar because the music was so loud. Can people seriously hear in those environments, or are they faking?However, I was recently in a restaurant with some uni friends with no music playing, but I still had to concentrate really really hard to hear them, and that was just with usual background noise of lots of people talking.Saying that I can't hear when train announcements are made on the tannoy, my laptop is is at a reasonable volume when I watch TV/films although I do prefer subtitles because I can't understand accents very well :/

Waits for audiology in our area after GP referral are close to 5 months, you get big ugly hearing aids if you need them. If you can afford it you might be best to pay.

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I can't filter sounds like you describe either. Have you tried the different type of Loop earplugs? They really help me. I can hear, I just can't filter all the sounds when there's too many (also ND).

I work for a charity that supports the NHS with basic technical support and can assure you that the hearing aids our service users are prescribed are not big and ugly at all. They are small and discreet and have blue tooth that works with an app. Some have very thin corda tubes with domes that are hardly visible.

My MiL has both NHS and Boots aids ( £3000) and the private ones are always going wrong.

Recently she had to use her NHS aids because her boots ones were being repaired ( again!) and she could hear so much better with them....

My dad had a hearing aid on the nhs and didn't get on with it, any excuse not to wear it, lost the batteries on purpose, drove us up the wall. Couldn't get another appointment for a check up etc

Got him to try specsavers, to see what his options were, the offer at the time was a free wax cleaning if needed, which got him through the door.
Anyway, they were great, gave him some options, explained everything and he's been really happy with the service. The hearing aids weren't cheap, but he wears them a whole lot more than his old ones. Rechargeable so he can't use the no batteries excuse.
Obviously service will be store dependent, and the nhs provision in your area might be better.

My NHS aids are certainly not big and ugly @HuminaHuminaHumina !

Mine are very small and discreet- in fact I have to point them out to people when I say I wear hearing aids as they never notice them. When I got mine the equivalent in the private sector were £3500.

@iPreferBooks try your GP first. I would try the NHS and then if you’re not happy you can always go down the private route.

In some areas Specsavers have the nhs contract but you need a gp referral.

Cobblers!

I have NHS Bluetooth hearing aids and they are definitely not 'big ugly ones'.

They aren't the tiny in ear ones but the tubes are so fine you can't see them (hence I have to whip them out quick if someone is trying to take my temperature or they'd get buried).

Of course if you can afford to pay then by means do. Your symptoms sounds exactly the same as mine, hearing aids aren't miracle workers mind, and it can still be difficult at times, but I love mine!

Please get an NHS apt

It's not normal. I have mild high frequency hearing loss (I'm only in my 30s), and the result is exactly what you describe - being unable to make out speech in noisy environments etc (it's to do with the frequency of different letters)

My NHS hearing aids are absolutely fine and help an awful lot, you don't need to be upsold private ones with expensive ongoing costs. NHS provide all my batteries and tubes etc they are small and discreet if that bothers you (but it's nothing to be embarrassed about anyway!)

I still struggle in very noisy environments but the diagnosis means I can actually say "sorry I'm hard of hearing" and point to my hearing aids which makes people have more understanding and patience

I went to my GP, who referred me to audiology at the local hospital. I can't remember how long I waited (about 2 years ago) but it wasn't awfully long. The hearing aids are not big or ugly (perhaps it depends upon where one lives) and they work okay.

"NHS aids aren't big and ugly! And they have Bluetooth!" Is something I see a lot on these threads.

But what some PPs don't seem to realise is that it all depends on the NHS trust and their budget.

My DS is seen at a central London NHS trust and does indeed have small, discreet, Bluetooth aids.

I was seen at our Greater London NHS trust and the one (Not two! despite having the same hearing level of hearing loss in each ear ) aid I was given was huge, not discreet, and not Bluetooth.

The private aids I now have are the same as my son's NHS aids, so I'm not sure why they would go wrong more often than his NHS aids 🤷‍♀️

OP, I would find out how long the NHS waiting time is in your area. In mine it was 6months to get an initial appointment. If it's really long where you are, you could at least get a private test to see if you do have hearing loss. These are free at boots (and specsavers, I think) with no obligation to try out or buy aids afterwards.

If I were you I would then try to wait for an NHS appointment and see what you are given and how you get on with them. They might be great. But don't assume that the NHS aids you get given are the best, because they aren't always.

Hey, I can’t say too much as it would be outing but I know a lot about NHS and private hearing aids from an industry perspective and from a wearer perspective (I wear them). NHS hearing aids are pretty great if you’re under paediatric audiology because paediatrics has a far higher budget. Adult audiology has been being sliced to ribbons for over a decade now. The hearing aids the NHS can provide are not very good for adults because of the lower budget for adults.

My life has been transformed by private hearing aids. I used to think that the private sector was just for vain people who wanted small hearing aids to but it’s not. The sound quality is night and day compared to NHS aids. You do have to go top of the range for this to be true though. To be fair, if you can only afford entry level private aids then you may as well wear NHS ones. They’re not too different sound quality wise when you’re talking about lower end private ones.

If you can afford around £4000 then it will change your life though. Another ‘disability tax’.

Boots do free hearing tests. I had one, confirmed I was losing high frequencies in my right ear particularly. And no wax issues. No hard sell.

@Feliciacat oh no - does that mean when my son turns 16, or 18, whenever the transfer to adult audiology happens, that he might get given worse aids than he has now?

I mean presumably he would get to keep his current aids, but at the moment he is given new ones every 2 years or so. Will all that stop?!?

I suppose I will have to keep my fingers crossed that the adult services at his hospital are as well funded as the paediatrics!

@RockaLock I am afraid this almost certainly will be the case when he turns 18. It was 2010 when I transferred out of paediatric audiology and I became more functionally deaf for a few years because I had rubbish hearing aids. They should let him keep his old aids but they only really last about 4 years max. He may be able to stay under paeds if he stays in full time education; that happened to me and I was 23 when I went to adult audiology.

You can typically get new aids as an adult every 4-5 years. Quite a few areas don’t even have adult audiology as it’s not seen as very important to fund. Nobody appreciates the impact of deafness.

I also am aware though that hearing aid fitting and hearing aid audiology is set to be done through AI in the near future and this could bring the cost of private aids down. I’m keeping my fingers crossed! Private aids really are so good if you go top drawer. I also recommend using an assistive listening device in conjunction with hearing aids as hearing aids will never be enough by themselves due to the nature of the microphones.

Thank you @Feliciacat , that's all really helpful.

(Apologies to OP for derailing your thread. Good luck, whatever you decide to do).

Not necessarily. I just phoned up and asked for an appointment! 2 weeks later I had my very small, very effective NHS hearing aids. I cant recommend them enough.

NHS definitely. Absolutely tailored to your needs and they never try to upsell. Don't forget if you have an NHS hearing aid, you are entitled to a disabled rail card!

I went to a private audiologist and they took a look. I ended up paying for my ears to be syringed and the difference was amazing. Didn’t need hearing aids although I would happily have had them should I have needed them. Getting a dr app takes months here, so even if I had been referred it would have been a long wait as opposed to booking an appointment the same week and it all being dealt with quickly. I tried specsavers and boots both cancelled the appointment the same day I made them! So I’m not in a position to recommend them.

Now I will say that in noisy situations my brain lags when it come to processing all the sounds. So I tend to avoid them if possible, otherwise I use flare audio ear plugs which filter out the top and bottom sound waves, dampening but not stopping the overall noise so my brain is less overwhelmed in trying to make sense of what’s being said etc.

In our area - specsavers do nhs tests and hearing aids
Boots do a hearing test initially a 15 minute check and called back for a full hearing test if there is a loss . Boots only offer private hearing aids but do payment plans .

I’d suggest you go to Specsavers for hearing test, to give you some idea where you stand and to rule out (or confirm) a wax problem. They were very thorough when I went there, and didn’t charge for test as ears were fine.

I'm curious as to why you'd think private aids wouldn't be "absolutely tailored to your needs"!

Do you think they don't do the same tests, and set up aids in the same way, as the NHS?

And you can get a disabled persons railcard if you have private aids, it's not restricted to NHS patients

Exactly this. I have a degree in audiology and am an ex professional in audiology (both NHS and private) and private aids are programmed the same way as NHS aids. I also have a disabled persons railcard as a private hearing aid wearer.

Just been down this route. I saw the GP first who insisted on a scan first (because I had one sided tinnitus). Other than that the time from seeing GP to having aids on the NHS was about 10 weeks all together.
I’ve got RIC aids (receiver in the canal) aids which are quite small and quite discreet.
Unfortunately, although they do have Bluetooth, I can’t play podcasts or music through them from my phone- I need a clip for that which costs £150.
My mum has more basic ones from Specsavers which cost £2000.

Having dealt with both NHS and Specsavers on her behalf over the last few years for repairs etc, locally NHS have the edge but only just.

Another point to consider is the aids supplied by your local NHS Trust might not be the best ones for you. My NHS aids were Phonak and the sound quality (for me) was awful - very tinny. Despite their best efforts, none of the audiologists was able to improve them for me, so I went private. I was able to trial HAs from different manufacturers, including a different Phonak model, and was really surprised at the difference between them. I have Widex now, which gives me a really natural sound quality, such that I often forget I'm wearing them.

Also, unless the facility to pay in instalments is essential, there are better providers than the likes of Boots and Specsavers. That said, I appreciate they do have some very happy customers.