NHS Hearing Aids... The Low Down

When it comes to trying your first NHS hearing aid or changing to an NHS hearing aid there are a lot of questions that come to mind. Your starting point when enquring about an NHS hearing aid is to visit your GP for a referal to an audiology department or hearing aid centre. Some NHS hearing aids are provided at a hospital setting, some subcontracted to specialist private hearing companies and if you are house bound there are opportunities in profound circumstances for hearing aids to be fitted in your home.

Waiting times to be seen for your hearing test and initial hearing aid fitting has come down a lot in recent years from months to weeks. Along with waiting times, hearing aids provided by the NHS have also changed. We look at key points to remember with having an NHS hearing aid. 

"An NHS hearing aid is provided free of charge"

An NHS hearing aid is provided free of charge in the UK, it always has been and hopefully will continue to be. This includes the service you are provided with, after care, leaflets, the case the hearing aid comes in and batteries for your hearing aid. As you can imagine this is actually quite a bit of technoloy and cost that goes into you having a hearing aid and it is a fantastic service to have as part of our NHS.

"Your NHS hearing aid is never really yours"

Your NHS hearing aid however is never really yours, which is a key point to remember. Although you are given the hearing aid for free, the hearing aid is technically on loan to you, therefore once you have no longer use for it, have no plan to use it, or have upgraded to a new hearing aid your old one will need to be given back. The same is also applied if you loose the hearing aid, some departments may charge you to replace the hearing aid, especially if it happens more than once.

Don't expect your hearing aid to be the tiniest pop in the ear device you have seen in an advert. These hearing aids are impressive high tech pieces of equipment, but the NHS hearing aids have to be able to have multiple capabilities and functions and therefore are behind the ear hearing aids, being bigger they can be more versatile and offer more features. They need to be able to suit a wide variety of different hearing aid users and lifestyles from quiet to busy to highly active. This does mean that the hearing aid you will be given will be robust, adaptable and can be set as simple or with different environment settings to suit your needs. It also means that your hearing aid will be easily replaced or repaired if broken instead of requiring to send it away. Your audiologist or hearing specialist will need to do specific and detailed programming to match your new hearing aid to your hearing prescription making this hearing aid only suitable for your ears and yours alone (no sharing!).

Once you do have an NHS hearing aid it tends to have a lifespan of a couple of years. If your hearing changes your hearing aid can be readjusted to meet your hearing needs. Your audiologist or hearing specialist will be able to tell you if your hearing aid needs replacing or upgrading. Comparing this to having a glasses prescription, you will need new lenses and glass if your eyes change over time, with a hearing aid you can just have your hearing aid reprogrammed if your hearing changes between hearing tests with the NHS.

Comfort is a big factor when it comes to the longevity of your NHS hearing aid. At first it may feel funny or percuiliar, it may feel tight or make your ear feel a little blocked but you will be surprised how quickly these feelings will pass. If it continues to feel uncomfortable book in to see your audioloigist or hearing specialist and they will see if any adjustments can be made to make it more comfortable for you.

"Your biggest hurdle is aclimitisation and perserverance"

Your biggest hurdle with a new hearing aid is aclimitisation and perserverance.  This also applies to how it sounds. Your initial main aim in getting a hearing aid may have been to hear better in background noise. What you will find is your NHS hearing aid will help improve conversations in background noise but first you will have to get past the initial strange artificial sound your hearing aid produces and how it amplifies certain sounds and voices becuase until you have got used to your hearing aid, background noise will still be a difficult situation to listen in.

"Hearing aid batteries will become part of your daily life"

For your NHS hearing aid to function you are going to need hearing aid batteries.  The way that hearing aids are going in the future you will be charging your hearing aid similar to the way you charge your phone but for now they mainly use small batteries to power them. These batteries tend to last 10 to 14 days and with six batteries in a packet you are looking at two months for each packet you are given. At your initial hearing aid fitting you will be provided with either one or two packets and after that you will need to get them yourself. Depending on where you got them from and their procedure on collecting hearing aid batteries this can be from GP surgery, library or by posting in a battery card or book that you have been given. From switching your hearing aid on and off to making sure to have spare batteries in your pocket or bag when you are out. Hearing aid batteries will become part of your daily life.