hearing

[Jacob]

I've always struggled with my hearing. In high school, I was told that I was tone-deaf. Recently, I purchased my very first pair of earbuds and made an intriguing discovery – my ability to hear seems to fade when I move my head or even when I yawn.

Maybe you should see a doctor, could be just wax. You can get free top quality hearing aids too, via NHS, including batteries, tubes , service etc.

 

[throbscottle]

My mum has teeny tiny over ear ones, and she's wanting to swap them for bigger ones because she keeps losing them! Practical to the core...
WRT the TV volume going up and down a lot, I struggle with this too - the dialogue is too quiet and the music is too loud. Smart TVs apparently have a setting for this (not looked into it as SWMBO is the TV controller) so you even things up. Check your handbook!
Slightly OT but...
I've had trouble understanding people all my life. The follow on from being confirmed dyslexic was I discovered I have APD, auditory processing disorder. So, I got this checked, a little over 10 years ago. The audiologist said I have hearing almost as good as a child's, and gave me a little gadget (an in-ear white noise generator) which gradually cures APD. But what I discovered was that as I started to develop normal hearing, I didn't like it. Turns out I'm quite happy not knowing what people are saying across the street! So I stopped using the cure. Took a long time to go back to fully abnormal.

 

[Scruples]

I started with NHS HAs but, after a year or so with less than satisfactory hearing, I went to a local, private company. The audiologist was very good and I had a long trial period before settling on Oticon HAs with a TV streamer. I've had them for 6 six years with one return to manufacturer for replacement. They link to my iphone automatically for phone calls. (They don't work with Android phones).
They cost me £2000 each and had a 5 year unlimited warranty, free visits and free ear wax removal, on demand. I couldn't fault the HAs or the service. Expensive? Possibly, but worth it.

 

[quintain]

I started with NHS HAs but, after a year or so with less than satisfactory hearing, I went to a local, private company. The audiologist was very good and I had a long trial period before settling on Oticon HAs with a TV streamer. I've had them for 6 six years with one return to manufacturer for replacement. They link to my iphone automatically for phone calls. (They don't work with Android phones).
They cost me £2000 each and had a 5 year unlimited warranty, free visits and free ear wax removal, on demand. I couldn't fault the HAs or the service. Expensive? Possibly, but worth it.

Wow..£2k for one HA. I have just been tested and told I need 2 x HAs. The NHS is to supply me with such in a few weeks. But, should I be looking for perhaps smaller better private type HAs. BTW: The very helpful young lady testing my hearing was confused when I said "my hearing was probably damaged when they set of all the celebratory sounds at the end of world war 2" Oh did they celebrate that she asked!! which sort of confirms my thoughts that the teaching of history in schools these days consists of "who won (whichever inane) TV show competition in year??

 

[Jacob]

Wow..£2k for one HA. I have just been tested and told I need 2 x HAs. The NHS is to supply me with such in a few weeks. But, should I be looking for perhaps smaller better private type HAs. BTW: The very helpful young lady testing my hearing was confused when I said "my hearing was probably damaged when they set of all the celebratory sounds at the end of world war 2" Oh did they celebrate that she asked!! which sort of confirms my thoughts that the teaching of history in schools these days consists of "who won (whichever inane) TV show competition in year??

Private seem no better except you get better gadgetry. My mate has paid for similar kit to my NHS but he can do adjustments via his smart phone.
NHS is excellent, but it may take you a bit of time to get used to them so don't give up too soon!
Born 1944 I can't remember much about WW2. I'm told I was in hearing range of one of the last V1s which exploded not far away but I remember nothing. Maybe it did my hearing no good.

 

[quintain]

Private seem no better except you get better gadgetry. My mate has paid for similar kit to my NHS but he can do adjustments via his smart phone.
NHS is excellent, but it may take you a bit of time to get used to them so don't give up too soon!
Born 1944 I can't remember much about WW2. I'm told I was in hearing range of one of the last V1s which exploded not far away but I remember nothing. Maybe it did my hearing no good.

Thanks Jacob..BTW change bass to guinness and forget the crisps and we could have the same tagline.
OK...so when I figure out fully how to use my smartphone I may be able to consider private HAs. I will look after the NHS gadgets i.e. they will probably sit on a shelf where I can see them..My good lady has told me for years I have husband ears, only hears what he wants..

 

[Scruples]

Private seem no better except you get better gadgetry. My mate has paid for similar kit to my NHS but he can do adjustments via his smart phone.
NHS is excellent, but it may take you a bit of time to get used to them so don't give up too soon!
Born 1944 I can't remember much about WW2. I'm told I was in hearing range of one of the last V1s which exploded not far away but I remember nothing. Maybe it did my hearing no good.

From experience of both, I would say you're wrong. The clarity and adjustable frequency response, the TV streaming, the blue-tooth connection to my phone etc., and the 5 year after-sales services, including vacuum de-waxing, are far superior to NHS HAs and service. And I don't need to sit in a waiting room full of other patients; the private option for me means an appointed time and venue close to home.

 

[Jacob]

... , the TV streaming, the blue-tooth connection to my phone etc.,

These are available on the NHS

and the 5 year after-sales services,
including vacuum de-waxing, are far superior to NHS HAs and service.

Lifetime after sales service and free vacuum dewaxing, plus all medical needs, MRI scan with NHS, far superior to the private market

And I don't need to sit in a waiting room full of other patients; the private option for me means an appointed time and venue close to home.

NHS do appointed time at venue close to home too, what made you think they didn't ?

NHS hands down superior and completely free. Even free batteries and tubes by post on request.
You don't get much for your money by going private.
I got charged £80 for a repacement when I lost one, but even that could be excused if not affordable.

 

[brocher]

I have only just noticed this conversation about HAs. I got Menieres disease back in the mid-1980s (this affects the hearing cells and also causes vertigo & sickness) and as a result I lost a lot of my hearing in my right ear. My left ear hearing was still quite good though so I didn't get a hearing aid for my right ear.

I wish I had as after about a dozen years I got a further Menieres attack which affected my left ear, although not so badly. So I have unbalanced hearing loss.

I had seen my GP and consultant about these attacks. I also realised that in my work which involved a lot of meetings and discussions, I was hearing less and less and as a result my confidence dipped. I felt that I was performing way below what I should be doing and adopted compensatory practices including where I sat around a table, and focussed in people's lip movements - but some peoples voices are very soft or have tonal range which I found very difficult. I hated noisy social gatherings as a result as well as due to the volume.

I therefore got appointments with the NHS HA audiologist who said I needed two HAs. I have been through 3 sets, and each time there has been an improvement. I am now on Phonak Nathos auto M models. These link through to my iPhone via a streamer I wear round my neck so that I can make phone calls, as well as listen to music, radio and downloads. The sound is very clear via that route as it is linked via bluetooth.

I also have a unit to link to the TV sound, which means that I can hear TV sound as clear as a bell. Although the downside is that me and my wife can't really talk about what we are watching!

I get the HA batteries posted to me.

Just now I feel my hearing is getting a little worse - I'm 72 - and have asked for an NHS referral, as my hearing hasn't been retested since 2018/19. But due to this Tory government's cuts there is a long waiting list!!

Overall, I am so pleased I got my HAs when I did. I just wish I had got them sooner, but that was down to me being reluctant to admit I had a problem!

Sometimes I wonder about going private, but the costs do frighten me! Although I am attracted to being able to make adjustments to my HAs without having an appointment with an audiologist.

Anyway, the NHS provides a useful background to HAs - Hearing aids and implants

 

[Yojevol]

Just now I feel my hearing is getting a little worse - I'm 72 - and have asked for an NHS referral, as my hearing hasn't been retested since 2018/19. But due to this Tory government's cuts there is a long waiting list

2 months ago I phoned for a retest having gone 5 years with my Phonaks (vast improvement over the previous Siemens). I'm off to the hospital on Monday. So waiting times are dependent on your local trust. I'll report back on Tuesday.
Brian

 

[brocher]

2 months ago I phoned for a retest having gone 5 years with my Phonaks (vast improvement over the previous Siemens). I'm off to the hospital on Monday. So waiting times are dependent on your local trust. I'll report back on Tuesday.
Brian

Thanks Brian

 

[Yojevol]

Thanks Brian

Well it's taken another 2 months which involved 2 hearing test sessions and a major clear out of wax, but I got my new bluetooth Phonaks yesterday. Brilliant, listening to my music collection as I type (nobody else can hear it). The Phonak app gives the possibility of fine tuning and choice of presets tuned for particular environments. It's going to take some time to get on top of it all.
Brian

 

[Scruples]

Well it's taken another 2 months which involved 2 hearing test sessions and a major clear out of wax, but I got my new bluetooth Phonaks yesterday. Brilliant, listening to my music collection as I type (nobody else can hear it). The Phonak app gives the possibility of fine tuning and choice of presets tuned for particular environments. It's going to take some time to get on top of it all.
Brian

As a matter of interest, can you watch TV with the sound in your ear(s)?

 

[pops92]

As a matter of interest, can you watch TV with the sound in your ear(s)?

Oh with phonak tv connecter. Brilliant however will set back £100 odd. I ended up with 2 so I can have one on the living room TV and one on my ps4 monitor.

 

[Yojevol]

Oh with phonak tv connecter. Brilliant however will set back £100 odd. I ended up with 2 so I can have one on the living room TV and one on my ps4 monitor.

I've managed to get my Samsung QLED to recognise the phonaks but is unable to pair. There's lots of comment on the Web about phonaks being temperamental where Bluetooth is concerned.
Brian

 

[pops92]

I've managed to get my Samsung QLED to recognise the phonaks but is unable to pair. There's lots of comment on the Web about phonaks being temperamental where Bluetooth is concerned.
Brian

Mine are NHS had them 6 months and I don't have that problem. They work good for me.

 

[Scruples]

I've managed to get my Samsung QLED to recognise the phonaks but is unable to pair. There's lots of comment on the Web about phonaks being temperamental where Bluetooth is concerned.
Brian

If Phonak are anything like Oticon, the HAs won't connect to the TV without a streamer. However, my Oticon connect to my Apple phone for direct connection for calls. You have to choose the ringtone very carefully because the sudden rining can be disconcerting.
I don't see HA companies giving up the sales of streamers for now.

 

[brocher]

I finally had my hearing test this week. My hearing has deteriorated slightly especially in my right ear. So I am promised new more powerful hearing aids - Phonak - which will be controllable via an app and also I wont need the streamer to listen to phone calls or podcasts as these will go directly to the aids.

Interstetingly my audiologist (NHS again), who was excellent taking her time to listen Tony issues, ask questions and do the hearing test, etc, appeared not to have seen a streamer before.

Anyway looking forward to the new aids in the New Year as I will also have new ear moulds and those take about 4 weeks anyway.

 

[slavedata]

Pairing Phonak hearing aids is a long term saga.
I emailed Phonak support Request submitted Is there any plan for a firmware update to these aids? The implementation of Blue Tooth makes succesfully connecting the hearing aids to the Phone a game of russian roulette. I have listed 2 phones above because a colleague using the same aids with an iPhone has exactly the same problems I have using the aids with a Pixel 6a. I have tried every combination of finding the aids in system settings before pairing in the Phonak app. Pairing solely through the Phonak app. Changing batteries for new, Uninstalling and reinstalling the Phonak app. The app can be coxed into just working but then battery level falls and the whole saga has to be repeated. This is a great shame becuase when they pair they are excellent aids. Can you please advise me if you plan an update to the firmware and how I can obtain such an update.

They didn't like me contacting them direct and referred me back to NUH who supplied the aids. Final reply from NUH was
I’m sorry to read that you are having problems with your hearing aid app.

As far as I know there is no firmware update needed for the hearing aids, which leaves you no better off; I understand your frustration.

I did see a similar case the other day, which we were able to resolve by ‘forgetting’ all of the Bluetooth connections with the aids and trying again. I suspect you have already tried this.

The recommended order of connection is to download the app first, then allow it to pair with the aids, then (when prompted in the app to connect for streaming) make the final connection.

When you have finished and everything has paired, you will see three pairings in your Bluetooth settings:

LE_<right hearing aid name>

LE_<left hearing aid name>

<right hearing aid name>

There will be no pairing shown for <left hearing aid name> as this pairs in the background (as long as you agreed to the pairing request twice when prompted). Despite this, both aids will received the streamed sound.

I hope you are more successful with this.

I am still convinced the aids need a firmware upgrade but we will see if one eventually appears

Re connecting to the TV I bought one of these devices of ebay for £20 and works for driving aids directly from the TV

Bluetooth-compatible 5.3 DAC Transmitter Receiver Optical Coaxial for Laptop TV | eBay

 

[slavedata]

Best approach to pairing aids

Ignore Android / ios Settings menu
Uninstall then re install Phonak app
Insert new batteries in aids
Pair using the Phonak app