I had an appointment with Boots HearingCare recently for a hearing test and to look into new hearing aids. Overall the experience was somewhat lacking in detail and information and certainly not sufficient to justify spending several thousands of pounds with them on new hearing aids.
The hearing test was as expected, usual basic hearing test with bone conduction for one ear. The audiologist talked through the results at a high level, this was sufficient for my needs as someone who has had hearing aids for sometime so I understand an audiogram.
The main problem was with information on hearing aids. No options were discussed, she programmed a set of ‘trial’ hearing aids she had ready and gave them to me to try. Made one adjustment to the basic set up then asked what colour I wanted.
I asked for information on the hearing aids (Phonak Paradise 90), and in particular why she was suggesting the highest technology level. The answer was just they have more programs. No information on any of the features, no information on differences between the different aids.
She admitted a lack of knowledge of hearing aid technology and did not seem to understand all the adjustments that could be made to ensure programming was tailored to my needs. No speech recognition test was performed.
S0, the basics were covered (hearing test, aids programmed to the audiogram) but not the sort of service I’d expect to justify a significant outlay, and I have no confidence in the ability of the audiologist to tweak programming as needed to ensure I can hear as well as possible with these aids.
How does this align with other people’s experience in Boots (or maybe Specsavers as an equivalent High Street retailer)? I certainly don’t think I’d be getting what I’m paying for if I buy from Boots, I might as well buy these for several hundred pounds less online and program myself given the lack of knowledge/support in Boots.