hearing

[sneggysteve]

But not stop talking !!!

 

[Sapper]

Really appreciate your sound advice and will try and speak to the Doc.
Thank you very much

 

[Jasper42]

I’m 60 and been using NHS hearing aids for 3-4 years now (been in the army since I was 16). When I plug one before walking out the door I can suddenly hear the news on the TV. Don’t like using them and I only use one as I find my own voice quite off putting with 2 in, but they really improved my qualify of life,

 

[brocher]

I am now 71. I have been wearing aids for nearly 20 years now. My hearing is unbalanced due to getting Menieres disease which almost destroyed the hearing in my right ear. My left ear was left relatively untouched until another attack about a decade later. I have always gone NHS, but then I got in early before the savage cuts implied by this awful government (Sorry - rant over!).

NHS has been excellent for me. I did buy a streamer to go with my aids so that I can connect to my mobile via bluetooth and also listen to radio, music and podcasts with no problems whatsoever.

I also bought a separate TV link so that when some programmes are mumbly or not subtitled (we have those on all the time), I can switch on the TV link and listen through my aids.

I feel I am lucky because I am in the NHS system and have been for many years. But I know it is severely stretched now, because the powers that be in the Tory party think we should all be on private insurance - bugger the plebs!

The original OP should defiantly go and see his GP and get a referral to the NHS hearing clinic.

I live in Birmingham, and my local clinic is very very good.

 

[baldkev]

Early 40s, didnt used to use ear defenders on site and in my spare time used to build rather powerful car stereo systems. We d8d used to wear defenders for the test runs ( high voljme ) as you'd easily blow an eardrum....
Oh and we went to a motorhead gig where they retook title of worlds loudest band we went to a kebab shop afterwards and couldnt hear the kebab guy. It was then we realised we were shouting at each other to be heard

I'm in a similar position to others above. SWMBO has been "mumbling" for years now, the TV gets quiet and loud, NOT at regular intervals, and it's been difficult to make out some words during normal conversations.

Mine mumbles when she's tired ( which is most of the time )
I can get by very happily by watching peoples mouths, so i can interpret the majority of the conversation. Unfortunately my mrs usually talks to me from another room and then expects an answer
And pubs etc? Jeez, that can be hard going

 

[baldkev]

Just to add, sometimes, if she says something whilst mumbling, or head turned away from me, i say "speak up!" And it annoys her, she'll get up and walk off. Can be quite useful, try it

 

[Rewound]

I guess this could depend a lot on your speakers, but I got from 35 to 14500

Although the volume didn't seem very constant, turned it down at 140 and back up at 4000.
Noise was not constant in both lugs either, it would sound as it moved from ear to ear as the frequency changed

 

[Nick.]

Despite my earlier flippant comment, I am also interested in this, as my hearing is worsening.

I laughed at your earlier comment John - ha that was funny, but in the same vein as you, that was in no way meant to be disrepectful to your original question Sapper.
I'm in my very early 50's now, and I also know things don't work half as well as they did in my 20's.
I'll probably google back this thread in a few years when my ears start going too.
Cheers to all,
Nick

 

[Rewound]

Im 57 , and noticing differences in sound sometimes dull, sometimes clear as a bell, I know its bad for you but Im in the habit of blowing whilst holding my nose, using vicks nasel and cotton buds daily, eccentric I know , I think being around machinery all my life may be the cause, I tend to use ear defenders whilst working on projects and that seems to help a little , but also at the point of having them checked because I find it annoying

if I do that water comes out of my left eye - seriously, not like a water pistol, but liquid comes out, just blowing my nose and some comes out of my eye, clearly there is something wrong somewher.

 

[baldkev]

if I do that water comes out of my left eye - seriously, not like a water pistol, but liquid comes out, just blowing my nose and some comes out of my eye, clearly there is something wrong somewher.

Its a sign you drink too much water. You need to swap over to cider

 

[Nick.]

if I do that water comes out of my left eye - seriously, not like a water pistol, but liquid comes out, just blowing my nose and some comes out of my eye, clearly there is something wrong somewher.

My first 'go to' solution is PTFE tape for anything water leaky related..

 

[Rewound]

My first 'go to' solution is PTFE tape for anything water leaky related..

I've been brewing up a fair bit of imperial stout, that is a pretty thick sticky sort of brew - I'm hoping it might work a bit like tyre sealant.

 

[pgrbff]

Bit off topic but I guess it'll happen to a lot of us as we get older and that is, loss of hearing. I'll be 86 this year and I'm finding I tend to guess a lot at what people are saying when in conversation with them. Also, when watching tele my good lady often says, "blimey that's loud" and I'm thinking it's quite low So, I suppose at some point I ought to look at getting some hearing aids although, and I know it's stupid, I would be a bit self conscious about wearing them over my ear.

So, just wondered if anyone is in the same position and has had some Specsaver or Amplifon in ear type ones fitted and could share their experience and also what the average cost would be.

Appreciate any advice, thanks

My very fussy aunt bought expensive Amplifon, her expectations were far too high and she was never happy with them. The technician was with her quit literally every week to tweak them. So don't expect perfect hearing in all situations.
My mum had relatively expensive Amplifon, she has had dementia for some time, one of them would never stay in despite being changed several times and she was rarely aware it had come out and wouldn't be working.
My dad refused to have them because he was worried they would take his driving licence off him if he was found to be deaf. As a consequence there was always a lot of angry shouting between mum and dad as they often misunderstood what the other was saying.
My other younger aunt also has expensive Amplifon, she seems relatively happy with them but her hearing still isn't 100%.

 

[clogs]

Sapper
if ur worried about the looks........grow ur hair more.....
then u'll worry about what conditioner to use......hahaha......
even if u have to wait get the NHS to sort it......
u've paid in all ur life.....

 

[Chisteve]

I have using hearing aids for some years as had a hearing defect that was born with I went with amplifon as my wife worked there I’m in my mid 60’s they were great when working in office on phone etc with a streamer to connect to desk to phone and TV etc I have top quality phonak set had them refurbished a couple of years ago they have been brilliant - am thinking of NHS now as retired really helped me especially in noisy environments

Would recommend if you are really struggling they are very good now

 

[baldkev]

Sapper
if ur worried about the looks........grow ur hair more.....
then u'll worry about what conditioner to use......hahaha......
even if u have to wait get the NHS to sort it......
u've paid in all ur life.....

what about me? Mine hasnt grown on top since i was 19

 

[Scruples]

Bit off topic but I guess it'll happen to a lot of us as we get older and that is, loss of hearing. I'll be 86 this year and I'm finding I tend to guess a lot at what people are saying when in conversation with them. Also, when watching tele my good lady often says, "blimey that's loud" and I'm thinking it's quite low So, I suppose at some point I ought to look at getting some hearing aids although, and I know it's stupid, I would be a bit self conscious about wearing them over my ear.

So, just wondered if anyone is in the same position and has had some Specsaver or Amplifon in ear type ones fitted and could share their experience and also what the average cost would be.

Appreciate any advice, thanks

I started losing my hearing about 7 years ago but, as with your experience, other people notice before you do and you miss a lot of what goes on around you.
I started out with NHS aids and found them big and chunky and not very good so I started to look around at private options.

I ended up going to a small private firm called Westcountry Hearing Care, based in Plymouth. They did a hearing test and he recommended Oticon aids with a bluetooth TV sound transmitter unit. I had a trial pair for a month. The devices are small and hardly noticeable. The cost for the aids and the unit was ~£4000 but included a 5 year warranty and free appointments including free earwax removal by vacuum machine. The Oticon aids link to my Apple phone, so when I get a call, it rings in my ears and the conversation is crystal clear. I'm sure they all have that function these days.

Mine are now out of that warranty but I still get preferrential treatment, my guess being that they want me back when these finally fail.

That's my experience. I hope you find a similar one. Specsavers will be what Specsavers always are, no-frills and a bit perfunctory.

 

[DRC]

Bit off topic but I guess it'll happen to a lot of us as we get older and that is, loss of hearing. I'll be 86 this year and I'm finding I tend to guess a lot at what people are saying when in conversation with them. Also, when watching tele my good lady often says, "blimey that's loud" and I'm thinking it's quite low So, I suppose at some point I ought to look at getting some hearing aids although, and I know it's stupid, I would be a bit self conscious about wearing them over my ear.

So, just wondered if anyone is in the same position and has had some Specsaver or Amplifon in ear type ones fitted and could share their experience and also what the average cost would be.

Appreciate any advice, thanks

Hi, I'm 80+ and I have had experience of the private sector (in my case Boots Hearing) and the NHS Audiology for the last 2 years (I'm with Coventry UH Audiology Dept and they have been fantastic). It cost me £3000.00 with Boots Hearing for in-ear hearing aids and because I have high wax generation they were not suitable so a waste of money. So make your choices carefully my advice would be to go down the NHS road FIRST the big advantage is it's free.
I have a friend who went to Specsavers and had an expensive and terrible experience. I wish you luck.
PS BTW lower the TV volume and try subtitles they are great!

 

[Kittyhawk]

Read the research on the correlation between hearing loss and dementia. It helped me decide to get hearing aids.

 

[AES]

Read the research on the correlation between hearing loss and dementia. It helped me decide to get hearing aids.

I agree with Kittyhawk.

I too have heard that there's a definite correlation between hearing loss and dementia, though I don't know enough to know how "strong" that correlation is.

Here there is a company that offers a special "computerised" (?) speech therapy course over 10 weeks. Apparently it helps those with hearing loss (with or without hearing aids) to be able to hear words under conditions of high ambient and/or background noise, e.g in a noisy pub.

Somewhere above I referred to the "private-only" healthcare system we have here in Switzerland. As ever in life, there are advantages and disadvantages, but for me, although the cost of the therapy itself was I thought quite reasonable, the nearest office that company has to me was about a 1 hour drive/public transport journey away - going once a week for 10 weeks was, I decided, not feasible for me. So I have no idea how effective that therapy would be.

BUT, as part of their "sales pitch", the company DID show some "very interesting" research study data and stats (backed up with impressive-looking institution names, Universities, etc) about the hearing loss/dementia connection.

So I'd SUGGEST that for those who are "hovering" about hearing aids, it's at least another factor to keep in mind,