I was a little worried about having a hearing test in case I would be pressurised into having hearing aids that I didn’t need. I had thought that my hearing was OK except when in loud environments when I found it hard to hear people speaking. My partner thought that I should have the hearing test because I had accused him of mumbling and trailing-off at the end of sentences and he was fed-up with me not wishing to sit facing a shrill loudspeaker in pubs (which always seems to be the last seat taken!).
The hearing advisor in Boots was friendly and very professional. He wanted my partner to be there as well, so as to be able to also ask him about situations where I couldn’t hear. He examined, and then tested my ears professionally and showed me on a computer screen the hearing chart which clearly showed that my hearing was dropping-off at higher frequencies in both ears. He was pleased when my partner told him what I had been accusing him of because they were exactly the scenarios that people with my type of hearing loss accuse people of. He did a further hearing test of (unfortunately Americans) speaking (in strangely-worded sentences with an unusual word order and in an American accent) over various levels of background noise to see if I could repeat what the voices had said. This was very interesting and reinforced my understanding of my hearing problem. He said that at my reasonably-early stage of hearing loss that I might, or might not, personally consider that I would benefit from wearing hearing aids. He put me under no pressure at all and said that I could leave it for a year before another test, or that he could make another appointment in a few weeks to try out (top-end) hearing aids both in the room, in Boots shop, and also walking around in the streets outside for 15 minutes. This I decided to do, and was quite amazed at the difference to the high-frequency sounds that I could now hear both in the shop and in the street outside. I decided to buy a pair of these top-end hearing aids and had them fitted a week later. He adjusted them to my exact pattern of hearing-loss and carefully showed me how they work. He downloaded the app onto my smartphone and connected them to the phone via Bluetooth. He has also booked another check-up in 5 weeks’ time to see how I am getting on.
The price is not the cheapest that you can get hearing aids, but it does include a 4-year warranty (other than physical damage and loss), 4 years of professional testing and back-up (such as re-tuning the hearing aids as my hearing changes over the next 4 years). The hearing aids and charger are expected to last for 5 years.
All-in-all I am very pleased with the service that I have received and with my new hearing aids.