My husband, who has mixed dementia, has been diagnosed with hearing loss in both years. I feel, given his ability to break & lose items, that to go through the nhs route rather than pay for more expensive aids would be the best option. Does anyone have views on the best hearing aids for dementia patients?
Hearing
- Thread starter Jerac
- Start date
Hello @Jerac
I don`t know about the best hearing aids for dementia patients but I do know the NHS provides the most up to date hearing aids.
Hearing aids take some getting used to unless there is an immediate improvement and I would not spend money on private hearing aids until those supplied by the NHS have been tried.
People with dementia who have a hearing loss may also develop problems processing sound which may result in different problems as the dementia progresses.
I`m sorry to make things more complicated for you.
I don`t know about the best hearing aids for dementia patients but I do know the NHS provides the most up to date hearing aids.
Hearing aids take some getting used to unless there is an immediate improvement and I would not spend money on private hearing aids until those supplied by the NHS have been tried.
People with dementia who have a hearing loss may also develop problems processing sound which may result in different problems as the dementia progresses.
I`m sorry to make things more complicated for you.
NHS supplied my wife's hearing aid and batteries too. Losing hearing can be very socially isolating, when my wife got hers it was like someone rewound the clock, she improved massively, just being able to hear music properly again was a blessing and I had to learn to talk at normal volume instead of having to shout. K
My OH has NHS ones supplied through Specsavers who send bucket loads of batteries directly to us, we can go in and have the wires changed every 3-4 months and they replace lost ones free of charge for dementia diagnosed - we’ve just had a new one given. Not sure if all NHS use Specsavers but we’ve had excellent service.
My OH has NHS hearing aids. When OH first got them, my role initially was to put them in. We progressed to a mirror and finally is now able to put them in without any help. I’ve tried various ways to help remember putting them in every day eg. Next to the glasses, toothbrush etc. They are fairly robust too, they’ve been accidentally worn in the shower at least twice and they’ve been accidentally dropped into a full glass of water. They still work!
My Mum had private in the ear aids that she paid quite a bit for, she even had new ones after a few years, she was constantly taking them out because ‘they were uncomfortable’. During the lockdowns the company woukd not come out to her Care Home to repair and service, I got the Home to get her NHS ones (Specsavers) and they came to the Home, she found them more comfortable and better than her private ones and as she was continually damaging them they were repaired quickly and free each time.
My wife who has PCA, and has had hearing aids fitted via the NHS in the last week, such a lovely thing to see her looking so amazed when they where turned on for the first time, she was referred to the NHS via specsavers because of severe hearing loss in one ear, can't fault specsavers and the NHS Audiologists have been so helpful, my wife can't put them in or remove them easily but that's not a problem, one thing we did do with the HA's was to turn all the buttons off so no chances of getting muddled up with those, the HAs have made a big difference even though its been less than a week,
I'm told lost or damaged replacements are free for dementia patients. How many times I don't know.
I have NHS aids so does OH. The new ones have poor battery life mine last about 5 days so remember to change regularly. (that's the brown batteries . Orange are larger and lasted a fortnight.) My OH doesn't understand what the sound is when low battery beeps so I change his when I do mine.
I’m a long term aid users and have absolutely brilliant NHS aids and great service from my audiology clinic.
The trouble is it takes time for your brain to adjust to aids, they are fiddly to put in and your husband might find them unpleasant to wear at first, specially if he thinks he doesn’t need them.
Do try and get some sorted for him, but spend time afterwards getting him used to them. My MiL refused to wear her aids after wearing them back from the clinic. The noises she could hear scared her. Instead try them out for a few minutes in a quiet environment first. When I did that mil agreed they were useful, but I knew she’d never wear them when I was t around to supervise. If you can persevere they may be helpful for your husband, but you may find his brain never really adjusts.
The trouble is it takes time for your brain to adjust to aids, they are fiddly to put in and your husband might find them unpleasant to wear at first, specially if he thinks he doesn’t need them.
Do try and get some sorted for him, but spend time afterwards getting him used to them. My MiL refused to wear her aids after wearing them back from the clinic. The noises she could hear scared her. Instead try them out for a few minutes in a quiet environment first. When I did that mil agreed they were useful, but I knew she’d never wear them when I was t around to supervise. If you can persevere they may be helpful for your husband, but you may find his brain never really adjusts.
Yes very robust. Not that I recommend this but. ,,one of mine went through the washing machine last week and it still works! Must have been caught in my pj top.and I was horrified when it fell out of the washing !
The only thing I would add is that eventually even with aids my Mum couldn’t understand - she could hear, but could no longer make sense of most of what she heard. It was very sad for my sister in particular as she lives in the Isle of Wight (Mum was in Lincolnshire) so could only visit a few times a year so the phone was her main contact.
I agree with that . I put OH aids in as I do mine but quite frankly it doesn't make him understand so was disappointed when he got them as I'd hoped it was a hearing issue. Sadly it's a dementia one🙁
Please , if they do work remember to change batteries. My dad wore aids but still didn't always do mum's batteries! He relied on her recognising the low battery sound and she didn't! NHS brown battery lasts me only 4 days although audiology told me longer!
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I have alzheimers and vascular dementia and have both left and right hearing aids which I have had for many years with the tubes rather than full ear moulds which I couldn't get on with. They are certainly worth trying plus the batteries are free. All the very best to you both.
The hearing test was done by Specsavers but they don’t supply nhs ones in this area. We have to go through the GP.
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