Have a hearing test booked for next week as ive had problems with noisy environments for a year or two and finally decided to sort it out ! However from my brief initial research the whole area of hearing aids is very confusing. If i go for the non NHS aids they seem to vary from £500 to £3000 with varying types eg BTE, IIC, CIC etc. There are Specsavers aids (based on well known brands i believe) and branded aids eg Phonak, Signia . For anyone that has bought ftom Specsavers which option did you go for and were you satisfied with what you got? Are the Specsavers own aids perfectly acceptable or do i need to consider only the top end brands on the basis that ‘you get what you pay for’ ? Sorry if this is a 'how long is a piece of string ’ question but im totally overwhelmed by it all. If I just go on the advice of the audiologist no doubt he’ll push the most expensive option !
If at all possible try Costco. For around £1250 you would get premium hearing aids. Their Rexton Reach is a rebadged Signia 71 selling for £2750 at Specsavers. Also they sell Phillips and Jabra.
As mentioned go and check out your local Costco before buying anything.
I went to Specsavers a couple of weeks ago and am picking up new aids tomorrow. They weren’t trying to push any particular aid. Together with the audi we narrowed down my choice reviewing their own brand and the more expensive manufacturers’ aids. In the end, I went for Phonaks for their superior water resistance. I previously ruined an aid playing golf in the rain. My advice would be to start with a lower cost aid. If it works - great. If not, go back (within the 100 days trial period) and ask to try something better.
Thx. Not a Costco member so would have to join first
Thx i will ask what their trial period is and whether i can upgrade if im not happy with the improvement. My biggest issue is understanding speech in a noisy environment as everything merges into a wall of sound
This is the same for everyone, this is what we have been waiting on,the holy grail of hearing (if only it was possible for everyone) the Phonak Sphere is supposed to have “cracked” it going by the review’s so far.
Yes and Specsavers do offer the Sphere at just under £3k. I’m picking up mine today.
Thanks, I’d be interested to know how you get on and if you think they are worth the mkney
I started a thread for that here: Fitting for Infinio Sphere - #4 by Teewens
Hi Jim,
I bought Phonak aids, behind the ear, from Specsavers about a year ago and to be honest, I’m not too impressed with them - Specsaves/hearing aids. And when I went for my initial hearing test, they also didn’t do word/speech tests. I am connected to Bluetooth but like so many others, I have problems with speech in noise/words and am quite limited as to what I can or can’t do. Like you I am totally overwhelmed by it all. Everyone is different of course and can’t really suggest which aids to get. You can only be guided by the audiologist. What I will say is that my Phonak aids do not have the T-coil facility, which would perhaps make life a little easier. and I find that I am charging them quite often.
Good luck with the hearing test and choice of aids.
Good to hear that Phonak Sphere may have ‘cracked’ the speech in noisy environment. I have the same problem with my Phonak aids and whilst there is a programme on my phone for speech in noise, it doesn’t seem to make much difference. It doesn’t help that I am not very good with IT either.