Hi @Sts121
I’m in my early 50’s and after sudden hearing loss in my left ear which has not responded to treatment, I’m trying hearing aids.
When I lost a chunk of my hearing in my left ear I went to the GP and then on to the audiology department in the main county hospital where they tried a variety of steroid treatments over a few weeks, with a hearing test and audiogram at each visit. If you ask they will give you a paper copy or post you a copy.
As the NHS waiting list was quite long (6-18 months) I also went to Boots to try some Phonak Lumity aids (on a 3 month trial, but £3k if bought), so I could keep working. They tested my hearing at the time and it matched the NHS results. I’ve returned these and I must say the service I got from Boots was good.
I got an NHS fitting appointment through in 2 months but when I went in they said I’d got an ear infection so took me through to ENT, who gave me antibiotics. I’m in for my rescheduled NHS fitting on Monday.
I’ve bought some Phonak Sphere from Wholesale Hearing for £2.5k (£4k if bought from Boots) who set the aids up on the basis of my NHS audiogram. They then did a remote (via the Phonak app) tuning session and after a month I’ve got another tomorrow to make a few tweaks.
I’ve got a shaved head and the Phonak aids nestle behind my ear and a very thin wire just hooks over and connects to the receiver (speaker) tucked into my ear canal. These are referred to as RIC, Receiver In Canal aids as the microphones are in the bit behind your ear, but the receiver is tucked right into your ear canal and cannot be seen if you are using domes (like the flexible silicone tips you get on earbuds). If you get ear moulds rather than domes, then these are bigger and are more visible in your ear.
No one really notices the RIC aids unless you point them out.
Behind The Ear (BTE) are similar but all of the gubbins (mics, batteries and speakers) sit in the bit behind your ear and a small clear pipe goes from this to your ear canal. These again can have domes or full ear moulds. On my first fitting appointment with the NHS, on the basis of my hearing test they were going with moulds and a larger diameter tube as the said I would need the high frequency power. However at my obvious distress as getting old man hearing aids (to be brutal, I so overreacted), they said we could try some more powerful aids with domes and a thinner tube, but these may not have the umphf needed in the higher frequencies, but they would measure to see if these worked.
RIC aids are hardly noticeable (and are so not the big pink things our grandparents wore), but you can also get aids that look like earbuds (but people may think you a bit rude leaving earbuds in while talking with them), ones that sit in your ear, ones where they sit in your ear canal and some that tuck right inside and need to be placed and removed every 3 months by an audiologist (you buy a subscription). Generally the smaller the aid, the fewer the features and you have to switch to replaceable batteries rather than rechargeables.
You will notice how many people you know are actually using hearing aids. My best friend since school has always worn them, there is a 17 year old lass in our brass band who wears them.
I’m surprised it has taken me so long as I grew up in a rural area and quite often went shooting, then at college I used to stage concerts and I’ve run a nightclub for a while. As a lot of my musician friends have hearing loss, I make sure my kids wear sound reducing earplugs at concerts. We went to a concert on Friday night and they were handing out free (compressible foam) earplugs at the door!
