Hearing aids

conny · 22 Feb 2010

I admire you mate.
It takes guts to finally admit, even to yourself, that you have a problem. My dad lost his through work, (worked on the docks after the war descaling ships hulls with vibrating needle guns and no defenders for about 20 years), he tried various NHS ones but they were either too cimbersome or didn't make any difference. Went 'private' in the end and got fitted with a very discreet pair. Crafty old sod used to crack on they didn't work too well till one night, New Year actually, he was quite sozzled and someone suggested he try getting a different pair.
"What for? I can hear everything that gets said, just choose to pretend not to." he replied!

Following morning he denied everything and started to to say, "What?" everytime we asked him something!

LastMagicBean · 22 Feb 2010

dextrous said:
Also allowed a no quibble 60 day return if it doesn't work out.

Interesting point..........
I have always wondered about these money back, 'after use', agreements for products like this.

Bearing in mind they are, to a certain extent, intimate personal objects.

So it must beg the question.....What happens to the returned ones.???
Are they re-sold to an unsuspecting customer at the same cost...????

flooringman · 22 Feb 2010

Always looked on things like hearing aids as a sign of weakness although if truth be told I've needed one for years - something of self-denial I suppose.
Even had a deluge of leaflets after my lad said he couldn't take any more of my "What did he just say then?" and now have subtitles permanently on the tv, much to everyones annoyance.

But £4.5K! Thats a lot of pennies. What research did you actually do?
I googled the ones you posted and came up with a "Hearing aid forum" (bit like this one I suppose)which I haven't looked at yet. Is this the sort of thing you checked out?

Were the cheaper ones that much worse?

For some reason I feel really awkward discussing this but thank you Dex for your post.

WDIK · 22 Feb 2010

dextrous said:
trazor said:

Which make/model were they dex ?

Click to expand...

They are phonak (www.phonak.com) Audeo SMART IX.

Got them from Boots - they may not be the cheapest place, but for some reason I trust them more that a flier/independent!

Waited less than a week for a test/diagnostic, then 1 week for supply/fitting. Also allowed a no quibble 60 day return if it doesn't work out.

pardon?

joe-90 · 22 Feb 2010

I'd try one of these first.

http://www.benefitsnowshop.co.uk/pr...ing_Aids/Rechargeable_Digital_Hearing_Aid.htm

securespark · 23 Feb 2010

LastMagicBean said:
dextrous said:

Also allowed a no quibble 60 day return if it doesn't work out.

Click to expand...

Interesting point..........
I have always wondered about these money back, 'after use', agreements for products like this.

Bearing in mind they are, to a certain extent, intimate personal objects.

So it must beg the question.....What happens to the returned ones.???
Are they re-sold to an unsuspecting customer at the same cost...????

The moulds and tuding are intimate, and of course the moulds are unique to each ear, but the aids themselves can be reprogrammed and sold on, perhaps as reconditioned stock.

Shutpa · 23 Feb 2010

dextrous said:
So, here I sit with my brand new hearing aids. Never knew how loud the world sounds. Cost me £4.5K for the pair mind you (was becoming a bit more troublesome at times at work).

Anyone else suffer from this ailment?

Me! Thursday morning - audiologist appointment. Went to doc to get wax removed from my ears and he said that there was none and that I've lost most of the hearing in one ear. £4500! You cannot be serious!

joe-90 · 23 Feb 2010

He missed a full stop out. Should be £45.00

cmother1 · 23 Feb 2010

Good luck with them Dex. My wife cashed in some shares a few years ago to buy a digital model and she's never regretted it. Not only is the sound a hell of a lot better, but it's the size of a jelly bean and sits inside the ear canal, making it more or less invisible from the outside.

One piece of advice I'd give you is to make sure your insurance covers them. It used to cost us £38 extra per year with Saga house insurance to cover loss outside the home, but that's better than having to shell out £3k for a new one.

Happy listening!

Nige F · 23 Feb 2010

dextrous said:
So, here I sit with my brand new hearing aids. Never knew how loud the world sounds. Cost me £4.5K for the pair mind you (was becoming a bit more troublesome at times at work).

Anyone else suffer from this ailment?

Fraid so

I think I`m living in T`industrial heartland cuz I got stereo tinnitus . Like flippin roller mill going sometimes

Just had a scan to see about removing half me nasal cavity and inserting a grommet in one ear

. Already spent £4k on me teeth

joe-90 · 23 Feb 2010

Nige F said:
Already spent £4k on me teeth

Why so vain? Do you look like Simon Cowell?

dextrous · 23 Feb 2010

bolo said:
Me! Thursday morning - audiologist appointment. Went to doc to get wax removed from my ears and he said that there was none and that I've lost most of the hearing in one ear. £4500! You cannot be serious!

What you gotta understand is that my job requires me to have good enough hearing for me to be fully effective. I had to get a pair since one ear is nearly completely up the spout, and the other had faded sufficiently for it to have become increasingly problematic.

As for it being £4.5K, having done some further research, this is quite pricey, even for a big store's longevity and reliability. I am now "in negotiations" to get them to pricematch a local independent's quotation. Watch this space!

masona · 24 Feb 2010

LastMagicBean said:
So it must beg the question.....What happens to the returned ones.???
Are they re-sold to an unsuspecting customer at the same cost...????

They write it off and send them to the third world countries to help the poor.

masona · 24 Feb 2010

flooringman said:
Even had a deluge of leaflets after my lad said he couldn't take any more of my "What did he just say then?" and now have subtitles permanently on the tv, much to everyones annoyance.

I have a wire loop system which is simple to do so I can control how loud I want it so my wife can have the volume more comfortable level. The other one is a wireless headphone or if the hearing aids got bluetooth (only on expensive hearing aids at the moment) then you wear a neck loop which can be hidden under clothing for wireless sounds including ipod, mp3, moblie phone etc

masona · 24 Feb 2010

dextrous said:
As for it being £4.5K, having done some further research, this is quite pricey, even for a big store's longevity and reliability. I am now "in negotiations" to get them to pricematch a local independent's quotation. Watch this space!

I understand they are expensive but do think £4,500 is a wrong price for your hearing aids, I go to Click Hearing, don't forget to make a note when the 60 days expires so you can get a refund if need be, was it from Hidden Hearing?

A saving of £1800 below link

http://www.clickhearing.com/digital-hearing-aids-price-list

Hearing aids

Shutpa

cmother1

dextrous

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