Phil Anthropist wrote:
"The Natural Philosopher" wrote:
So, we go to the GP, who says

"Go to the hospital"

Who say

"You need a hearing aid".

Big deal. We knew that.

So we ask 'OK how long?'

"Six months. And it will be the one WE decide to give to YOU, but it will
be free.."

Great. So..anyone had experience of COMMERCIAL PROVISION - types, models,
providers and the like esp. in East Anglia?

For those of you who know what it means my wife looks like her hearing
shelves from normal at 100Hz down to -50dB at 750Hz, where it plateaus
before falling off a cliff after 2.5Khz..I doubt anything over 8kHz is
audible at all..

She wants something in ear, for comfort, rather than cosmetic
reasons...but 50dB is apparently the bleeding edge as far as 'in ear'
technology goes..

Digital would seem to be a must.

I suppose what we ant now is a place to go and try stuff out without
having to commit to anything..Bury/Cambridge/Newmarket/Ely sorts of areas
for choice...

Digital hearing aids are available from NHS audiology centres but you have
to specifically request digital. There is usually a waiting list for digital
but they will supply a non-digital aid first.

It may vary by region or nature of the problem, but that's certainly
not my experience. My father was given digital aids quite quickly
without asking specifically for digital. I can, however, echo the
experience that the training and instruction leaflets for digital aids
leave a lot to be desired when intended for an 86 yr old with various
other ailments who can just about manage a TV remote.

MBQ