Paphos Life

Anyone who could help point in right direction for hearing aids please? Been confirmed at the General that they are needed but have to supply own. He did say something about filling in some paperwork to apply for partial refund. So, any experience of decent supplier, ball park figure for them, and if anyone has had a refund how was the experience? Thanks in advance, since no idea where to start and what prices I may be looking at.

Read this thread.......

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=82&p=660&hilit=hearing+aids#p660


Marios secretary will help you with the paperwork necessary
to receive a partial refund.

When we went to Hearing Aid clinic to find out about hearing aids
we were given lots of info re different types.

Once we decided on the type of aid, Marios put a silicon type gel into
ear canal to get the correct size for the mould.

If you buy from Amazon or other online suppliers, how can you you
get sized for the mould.

Lost hearing in my left ear on my trip to Paphos last year. Had an MRI scan to detect any "funnies" as the consultant quaintly put it but none were found so either I had a virus or a burst blood vein which damaged the nerve & irrecovable. After many tests & 9 months later "not knocking the NHS as this was not a priority" I had an over ear aid fitted 2 weeks ago. The consultant said it could take up to 3 months to re-teach my brain. Experience so far is that I have to turn down the volume of radio TV etc so that part works. Disapointingly when in a large group of people I still have difficulty in picking up individual conversations. When I last met Brian he had just been fitted with an inner ear device & I was impressed with it's unobtrusive appearance but he commented that he was not too sure how effective it would be

I would be very interested of his experience now

Further to Lloyd's comment, modern digital hearing aids can only be adjusted by an Audiometrist to suit individual requirements

I think I too will need a hearing aid or aid in the not too distant future. I wondered how Brian was getting on with his, but forgot to ask him last time we met..

Would recommend Dr Andreas Antoniades tel no. 26947900at 1 Pindou St Paphos (opposite Dr Eleni the Dentist with New York Sweets on the opposite corner.

My OH had NHS aids which were starting to pack up and I have some hearing loss but borderline. As an ENT specialist he can tell whether your hearing loss is just general deterioration or something which can be corrected. The result of our visit was I decided to save myself something like €2000 as I only have slight hearing loss so was not finding much difference with or without aids and also found them quite uncomfortable although I'm sure I would have got used to them eventually. However my OH has more severe hearing loss and needed new aids, these are much superior to his old NHS ones, taking something like a month of weekly visits to the technologist to get them programmed to his exact needs as they have about three different channels for tv, out socially and sitting in quieter environments. The cost included a month's trial and ongoing readjustment to the software programme, should he need that.

Hope this info is of help to you.

LIKE

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread.After lots of research into the local audiologist and specsavers et al; I decided to try hearing direct.co.uk/.com. their web site was set out very clearly and all questions answered. the reviews were glowing! Well, I must concur! i sent the audiogram as an email attachment on Saturday, when i also ordered and paid for L & R. i quoted the order number on the attachment. On Sunday I got a reply saying they would be programmed and shipped on Monday.They were.They arrived on Wednesday. they were ready to go once the batteries were inserted. MOH said "turn the TV down"! First time for years! there has been no background interference, no whistling, and the report is, they are very comfortable. we chose the mid price range, digital, in ear, with 30 day money back guarantee. they are a fraction of the price of anyone here and also specsavers, but they are for someone with moderate hearing loss. i would suggest to anyone, visit the website and see for yourselves.

Are the ones you have bought totally in the ear ones ?

I have mild to moderate hearing loss and wear NHS hearing aids. I was absolutely amazed at the difference they made. They are over the ear but then have tiny little ear buds in my ears, not the moulds. They have setting for noisy environments so I can focus on conversation.
I would never have believed how many sounds I was missing until I got them, even the plastic bag I was handed with the batteries made a rustling noise I was obviously unaware of for years.

trevnhil wrote: ↑Fri Jul 21, 2017 12:02 pm Are the ones you have bought totally in the ear ones ?

yes. there is nothing to see on the outside, the little "tail" that you extract them with nestles at the lowest point of the ear. They do seem to shield out external noise, but it tells you all that on the site. MOH even heard the indicator clicking in the car!

trevnhil wrote: ↑Fri Jul 21, 2017 12:02 pm Are the ones you have bought totally in the ear ones ?

yes. there is nothing to see on the outside, the little "tail" that you extract them with nestles at the lowest point of the ear. They do seem to shield out external noise, but it tells you all that on the site. MOH even heard the indicator clicking in the car!

It's a pity nothing seems to be able to be done to cure tinnitus which I suffer from.

When my hearing aids were set up, they took my tinnitus into account and adjusted the settings so when I am wearing them my tinnitus is barely noticeable. No idea how it works but thankfully it does.

@Darrow.....

Have been reading your posts with great interest- the dog chewed my hearing aid over the weekend and I need to organise a new one.

Looking at the hearing direct website in the uk.....bayou mention in one of your posts sending the audio gram as an email attachement.

Is the audiogram obtained from the General, of are you referring to the online test?

Many thanks
Ian
Anarita

Is it best to order hearing aid batteries on-line or is there a reasonably priced local supplier?

The hearing test was done at the general but I believe you can go most hearing aid places and get one. Just ask for the audiogram , I scanned and sent by email. The batteries were ordered at the same time. I didn't realise that wax guards need changing quite frequently and a friend who is ordering some has ordered for me. Currently £19.99 for 40. Incidentally, MOH is still pleased with them!

I've had hearing aids for some time now and they have made an enormous improvement to not only my life but also Sylvi's. The first thing that happens when you get effective hearing aids is that you stop accusing your wife of mumbling and not speaking clearly. This leads to a lot less headaches and dented frying pans.

I got my hearing aids from Donald at Alternative Hearing. He has an office in Peyia and I believe can also do home visits if necessary. He offers a full service included in the price which includes all maintenance, re-tuning and wax guards and a 30 day refund if you are not happy. I have the behind the ear with a thin almost invisible lead into the ear which are less expensive than the in the ear type and also I felt better for this climate as the ear is a sweaty place at the best of times.

I think it fair to say that the hearing aid manufacturers, like so many other products, constantly seek ways to make their products superior to the opposition. My view is that many of the bells and whistles they incorporate in their products have little effect. My view is that a the basic level hearing loss occurs at different frequencies and different levels and a hearing aid needs to be able to be tuned to reverse this process. The extras incorporated in many models such as background noise reduction, frequency changing, etc are OK if you find them to work but can be a nuisance and even an annoyance. I'm not sure why background noise reduction is emphasised so much. If your hearing is normal the background noise is there anyway, once you are used to your hearing aid and the hearing is restored the background noise will be at the level it originally was.

I would suggest to anyone needing hearing aids they approach them with a flexible open mind. They do not restore your hearing completely and you will still find yourself conversing with people who's voice tones don't get amplified correctly and you will still struggle to understand them. But by and large, once your brain has adjusted to so much more audio signal coming in, they improve quality of life a great deal.

There is an amount of maintenance to be done. I wash the small rubber pull offs that go into the ear every couple of days and visually check the wax guards with an eye glass. The washing is important as it will help prevent particle of skin and wax entering and blocking the wax guard and therefore the sound. Changing wax guards is a fairly rare but simple procedure. My batteries last just under a week and I buy them on Amazon, Ebay or from Hearing Direct as mentioned above in boxes of 60, where they are significantly cheaper than in Cyprus. I pay around £15 per box.

I hope this overview and my thoughts are useful to anyone considering hearing aids.

Pete

PeteandSylvi an excellent overview on hearing aids particularly your comment on background noise. This was the first thing I noticed but after 1 month it is becoming less noticeable so seems my brain is adjusting. End of day any hearing aid will be a compromise to natural hearing but it does not cope yet with large groups of people

jagwheels wrote: ↑Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:25 pm PeteandSylvi an excellent overview on hearing aids particularly your comment on background noise. This was the first thing I noticed but after 1 month it is becoming less noticeable so seems my brain is adjusting. End of day any hearing aid will be a compromise to natural hearing but it does not cope yet with large groups of people

Thanks.

The large groups situation together with noisy restaurants are probably the most troublesome. I am able to make minor adjustments on mine by changing one of the 4 preset programs to help but nothing substantial.

Have you tried being near your vacuum cleaner? We had one whose motor noise became an unbearable scream in my ears and the aids had to come out! The other situation where the clever electronics becomes dumbfounded is driving with the window open. Any reflected noise from walls or even the metal barriers confuses them and the background noise suppression is going on and off as you go along. The noise suppression does work very well with constant noises like fans and eliminates them well.

Pete

Like