Other than my father as mention above (never diagnosed) I wonder if there is such a test that could easily confirm? I.e not 100s of possible genetics that can cause it.
It is possible to find out a selected few I think. I’ve feel this genetic stuff has gone quite far. It was only suggestion because of your age.
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Considering the nature of the “audiogram” (really a screening test) I think it’s pretty premature to start conjecture about cause. I’d suggest getting a full audiogram and then asking the person doing the test about the nature of the loss.
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It is very informative though. Potentially help many people who see this thread. Thank you for explaining all of that! It is quite a tough one.
I came to say this. Wait for the full diagnostic test.
Also, there are technological options for people with “normal” hearing who have functional hearing difficulties, but you might need to go a bit further than . . . What’s Boots? Sounds like a box store.
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Here’s a history of Boots and it’s merger with Walgreens.
I’m not positive, but I think there’s a separate Boots in the UK that is unrelated:
No, it’s all part of the same company. Boots is much like Walgreens in the US, but is much more dominant. There are no other large drugstore competitors, like CVS in the US.
I guess Boots offering hearing aids can be compared to Costco in that they buy in bulk and offer reasonable prices.
In the UK, the other competitor for HAs bought in bulk by a chain is SpecSavers. SpecSavers, as it’s name suggests, is primarily an optician. It only sells glasses and HAs.
Hearing loss can ‘add’ to dementia but there is still a lot of research happening in this area as to relevance. Dementia itself has many possible causes, so it may not be down to just one problem such as hearing loss. In saying that, social isolation does play a big role in many problems like dementia, and hearing loss is a big factor in social isolation, and HA’s could have minimised social isolation.
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Walgreens in the USA.
Used to be a high street pharmacy based in Nottingham . Now Boots Hearing Care is 50% owned by Sonova and 50% by Walgreens.
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They aren’t the same company and they’re unlike Costco in that they’re not independent of the manufacturer chain.
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You might try taking the online Mimi Hearing Test at home, just for some comparison. See the app so-named.
I was talking about Boots. There was talk of going to Boots for HAs.
Someone asked what Boots was.
mdb said “I’m not positive, but I think there’s a separate Boots in the UK that is unrelated.”
There is just one Boots!
You are correct in pointing out that if you go to Boots to buy hearing aids, you will be buying from Boots Hearingcare, and that Sonova has a stake. You will only be shown Sonova aids.
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My Boots Hearing Care also sell Widex from my understanding.
They do Phonak and Starkey as well according to their website.They used to do Unitron, too.
Some are Sonova, but Starkey and Widex are not.
Here’s a useful map.
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I am not sure why you should wait a couple of years because you are young. At 83, I am significantly older than you and my hearing loss is at the border line between Severe and Profound. With my Oticon miniRITE S1 I was able to manage word recognition, even in noisy restaurants until September last year when I got COVID. I had initially a severe sinus infection which I continue to face on and off until today, though more moderate. My ENT and audiologist confirmed that my “Longterm COVID” is the sinus issue which deteriorated my hearing capabilities, like other patients also faced.
My hearing aids have been adjusted several times since last year, however, word recognition in a noisy environment became an even more significant challenge, to state the least.
This is why I suggest you visit and Ear Nose Throat specialist who has also an audiologist in the same office and get a more meaningful evaluation.
It’s to keep up the premise that they are independent: what you see advertised and the ranges they sell in most volume ‘might’ not be exactly the same.
It’s a Sonova delivery service at the end of the day. They control where the profits are taken on the supply chain.
I recently got my hearing aids from Boots. You can book appointments online, but the key thing is to book a full hearing test not a quick screening test. I tried other places in the past and my hearing was always fine - even though it didn’t feel fine. I felt this time that everything had been thoroughly checked and I do indeed have a hearing loss. I could have managed longer without aids, but got fed up with constantly asking my husband to repeat what he’d said as well as the fact that my dad and my grandmother both had dementia and I felt I should give my brain all the opportunities I could.
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