Hi folks,
My wife now has age related hearing loss and she has been fitted with NHS aids. They are OK but I have suggested that she goes private. so she can have Bluetooth functionality for watching TV, etc. I have profound hearing loss and my hearing aids are private (DN Resound RE962 Linx Quattro).
I inquired about the cost of basic aids for my wife and I was told they would be about £1500 each. This is more or less the same as I paid which, given the power and features I require, seems a lot.
I was wondering if anyone could advise on cheaper options with Bluetooth, perhaps from Specsavers or some other lower cost vendor?.
A lot of NHS trusts are now handing out Bluetooth Aids.
There are other options for watching TV, like a loop system. You don’t need Bluetooth Aids. A lot of Bluetooth Aids don’t actually use Bluetooth to watch TV. They use their own TV Streamers that work differently to Bluetooth.
I got my loop system funded by the Sensory Team. You may have a Sensory Team near you that could provide equipment for the home.
You don’t pay more for more powerful Aids, they are the same amount. You pay for more features.
Costco is your cheapest option, they have rebranded, top of the line Phonak Paradise 90 Aids, as Kirkland Signature 10, which have Bluetooth, and many other features for £1,149.99p, if you have 1 nearby? Good Luck, cheers Kev
Edit; Check the link below, the above price is for a pair, and custom moulds are extra….
Without disagreeing with any of those suggestions, I bought a pair of the most premium rechargeable Resound Ones from Amplifon with custom moulds, premium charger, four years guarantee and all follow up care etc for £2995 just a few months back. They were running a two for the price of one offer at the time. No doubt the lower tier products were similarly reduced. I have used Amplifon for about ten years and it’s worked well for me.
Unless Amplifon has cleaned up it’s act, my experience with this company was far less than desirable…… But, you may have struck lucky? IMO, years ago, they were more akin to a very dodgy used car salesman, personally I would give them a very wide berth, but first impressions have a tendency to linger…. So much so, I would never go back to them! YMMV……
Yeah there is one in Glasgow @Baltazard, though I have never had the pleasure, list of UK Costco Hearing Centres, and Telephone numbers below; Cheers Kev
Been doing hearing aids at Glasgow Costco, for a while, I believe @Weirb, at least from last year, perhaps longer, they are slightly out of my range @ 220 miles away…. I had a conversation on here last year, when someone informed me they went to Glasgow Costco for their aids…. Which was a bit of a surprise, as I didn’t know there was a Costco in Scotland! Cheers Kev
You can probably do better than £3K for ‘entry level’ aids if you look around. Have a look for someone doing the lower level Bernafon Alphas/Virons. You’d expect to pick these up for around £2k plus a shade for the rechargeable.
There ought to be someone near the factory in Hamilton who’s doing them at a bit of a good deal.
I used to be a member of Costco Glasgow, It’s about 25 miles away from me here in Balloch but I stopped going about five years ago. I did look at it it four or five years ago when I was replacing my aids and they didn’t have a hearing clinic then.
Please let us know @Weirb, if you go along to Costco in Glasgow…. It would be interesting to find out how you, and your wife find the experience…. Good Luck, Cheers Kev
Costco Glasgow is excellent. I purchased my HAs there last summer and service was spot on. As I was travelling some distance, I was able to arrange a test and fitting in the same day. The guy who runs the centre is very experienced and very nice too.
Specsavers Hearing aids are the cheapest, any things better than NHS starts from £1395 for two aids, and they are rechargeable they are equivalent of Signia pure charge & go Xrange. Specsavers hearing aid is made by Phonak and Signia manufacturer, and the technology in them is pretty the same as branded products. Good luck
Welcome to the forum @uk.elly, @£1149.99 for 2 x KS10’s fitted, and using REM, I beg to differ? KS10’s are top tier, and to all intensive purposes Phonak P90’s, rebranded in a different casing…… I think the NHS, are moving along, (but ever so slowly) and sometimes they will purchase aids outside their own catalog, I was indeed issued, not so long ago Phonak Nadia SP M70’s, which I believe only came out in 2020? But, it’s a bit of a postcode lottery…… Cheers Kev
My local NHS Hospital says on its web site “ Nearly all the aids that we fit are Bluetooth-compatible. This means that there is the potential for streaming speech and music from devices such as a phone or iPod.”
Look on EBay. There are plenty of new resound hearing aids and other brands for half the price you paid. A used pair is Even less expensive. That is what I do. Then I go to an audiologist who fits them( with REM testing) for $225. I buy all my hearing aids this way.
Excellent @bluebillranch, tis a good method of obtaining, “Top Tier” aids, at a fraction of the High Street costs! And you are doing your bit for the planet, not to mention assisting your wallet The link below is current, but I should imagine it wont remain on there long? Cheers Kev
The link below is current, but I should imagine it wont remain on there long? Cheers Kev