Hearing aid for grandfather

Hi Dina if he is over 50 he can get one on the NHS. He does need to have it properly fitted and his hearing tested first.

Nice to care for him like this.

He'll need to be referred by his GP, the NHS ones are free with full back up for batteries and aftercare so it's the best way to go.
If you go privately it becomes expensive.

Just had two digital hearing aids from the NHS, excellent, hadn't realised how poor my hearing ad become. The NHS have a range of products available to suit individual needs and preferences. Batteries and maintenance are free, don't underestimate the cost of this, the batteries do not last long and are quite expensive over a year, the tubes etc have to be replaced every 3 months. All free via the NHS. In our area the free batteries and maintenance are provided locally by the RNID, no need to travel outside village.
It only took two weeks from seeing hearing nurse at our Drs.

I see that both your possible choices are from the same online company, which is based in the States (prices are in dollars). I don't think that the opinions of posters in the Uk will help you very much, nor will the link to a US site, as we tend to use the excellent NHS hearing testing and prescription service..

If you have any connection with the company, you run the risk of having your post deleted as advertising spam.

Just noticed that all three posts in answer to your question are about NHS hearing aids. That is an indication of how good they are.

And as you are clearly from the States, can I put in a plug for "socialised medecine" It is not perfect - what is? - but most UK citizens use it, though they are not banned from spending their own money on private medecine if they so wish. (it does seem that many people in the US think that the NHS is obligatory, draconian and useless - not so. Sarah Palin was wrong when she said that her handicapped child would have had to be aborted in the NHS - rubbish!)

You are right, I have found that most Americans have a total misunderstanding of how our state NHS works. If you want private care, it is easily available, but if you want the best care and don't wish to pay for it, choose the NHS.

There is an innate fear of "social" or "socialised" anything in the USA. They equate the word with communism - a procrustian bed which everyone has to fit into and sleep in whether they want to or not.

The NHS has its problems, and inevitably you hear more about its shortcomings that its successes. However, it has been shown that the much-vaunted good health of US citizens is highly dependent on their access to occupational health insurance - which stops if you become unemployed. If you have no job and can't afford insurance you could have to choose between medical attention and eating. If you have a family to feed, that come first, and treatment and drugs for parents come last.

I can never understand those tv adds for hearing aids that stress how discreet they are because, if and when I need to get one, it won't bother me at all if people can see it. Same with walking sticks; some people hate the thought of using one but, when my knee is playing up I'm quite happy to do so [my granson thinks it's great and it makes me a 'proper' granny ].

If you invite these firms round for a hearing test they never ever let go. Even after you have decided against it they phone every three months without fail.

DF has a very good, very discreet hearing aid courtesy of the English NHS.

Elegran Well said for our NHS.

I find it hard to believe that hearing aids can possibly cost what the private sector try to charge for them.

I assume they rely on basic microchip tecnology and once you take out the development costs, what is there in them but an easily mass produced programmable microchip? Perhaps a bit of silicon and plastic and some fine wires?

Now consider how cheap some of our very sophisticated every day electronic gadgets are. I know hearing aids need physically fitting and then fine tuning to an individuals hearing loss but I would love to know just how much the basic components do cost.
Anyone who knows more please tell me.

Why should a hearing aid have to be 'discreet'? Glasses aren't!

Mine are discrete - I sneaked off to the pub last week and they haven't said a word about it.

pompa.....but we know!
I wear two hearing aids (NHS), and get my hair cut to cover the top of my ears, no problem-better to be able to hear than worry about it.

OMG! I never expected this much of a response. Thank you sooo much. Since the majority are supporting NHS, I planning of going ahead with that. Once again thank you so much for finding time to reply to my post.

No one needs to buy hearing aids the private ones are often the same as the NHS ones but are given different names. I have worked with deaf people and wear NHS hearing aids myself, they are very good quality . If anyone does not find their NHS hearing aids right just keep going back until you find the best ones for your hearing loss.

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