Specsavers UK vs hospital

Thank you for your responses…

When I went to the GP , I asked for a hearing test referral as the specsavers website had suggested I could be referred direct to them from my gp… as an NHS patient. The gp printed a form to give me to give to specsavers.
Then I went to specsavers… was told the hearing aids would need to be ordered and was given an appt in 2 weeks. Then I got an email regarding a hospital audiology referral so somehow I think my gp printed this form and also referred me to the hospital too.
I’m sure I won’t be able to get aids from both appts… but id like to try and find out which hearing aids each place offers, somehow, but even then, I’m not sure what is right for me! I have understood that REM and a good audiologist are what counts… not so much hearing aid, and I’d personally like Bluetooth. But otherwise, I’m in the dark in this minefield!
To add to this… when I asked for a copy of my hearing result/audiogram… the specsaver audiologist said I wasn’t even allowed to take a photo of the screen. It’s property of specsavers! So I have nothing to upload here, unfortunately.

This is the problem with companies that play both sides of the system: you never know whether you’re getting ‘advice’ or a pitch. Don’t get me wrong, we ‘sell’ hearing aids privately in the U.K., but it’s not confused with the NHS delivery and we don’t use the NHS for lead generation.

Unfortunately the previous government has intentionally defunded several aspects of healthcare and this is what’s left.

Thank you, I’ll try and go to Watford Costco soon and see what they say.
In the meantime, I might postpone the specsavers appt and wait to see if the hospital give me a date in the next month… as I have a tiny hope that they might be better than specsavers… although I feel like I’ll get tripped up for being greedy and expecting more ‘choice’ or experience in the hospital… when both specsavers and the hospital are both free.
I definitely won’t be going to specsavers if I decide to go private! His sales tactics were rather muddled and poor…. He told me there is no point trying NHS aids first because I can’t give them back (which I’m not even sure is true… they will be nhs property, right?) but if I went private I can give them back and get my money back if I’m not happy?!!! Gave me a chuckle at least.

@Member369 said:

they will be nhs property, right?

That is correct, they are NHS property, you can take them back, but I will keep them if I was you, as a backup, in case the one you will pay for go faulty.

You might get lucky to get some hearing aids from the NHS within 6 months, depending on your location, but I suggest you try Costco to begin with, bearing in mind they too, have a long waiting list, maybe worth giving them a call.

If the specsavers ones are free, why not try them, just so you can have an idea what to expect hearing-wise, otherwise, if you don’t feel happy with specsavers, just wait for the hospital one.

Good luck

I’d recommend Costco as a private option. I’ve had very good treatment and aftercare from them. Their HAs are all top of the line models, although sold under sub brands of the leading manufacturers.

Your experience of Specsavers is similar to my own, although I’m in Scotland and I went for a ‘free’ hearing test with a view to considering private aids from them. I was massively upsold, with the most expensive HAs suggested as what I needed. No discussion on other options.

Boots Hearingcare were better, although it’s worth being aware they’re owned by a hearing aid company (Phonak’s parent) so funnily enough there’s a full range of their HAs on offer. I was steered to the top of the line HAs but given a better explanation as to why and there was discussion of lower spec options. At this point it was a straight toss between Boots and Costco. £3k vs £1200 and access to more loo roll in one purchase than we can ever dream of.

You can have an NHS pair too. I have a pair of Phonak Nathos Nova hearing aids, basically an older set of Phonak hearing aids but still good for today as they have Bluetooth and work well with current accessories. I was concerned the NHS clinic would chuck me out the door when I said I had private aids but noted I needed a Plan B set as I didn’t exactly have £1600 kicking around to buy replacements. Audiologist thought this was a sensible idea and had zero issues.

@garethjwells said:

Your experience of Specsavers is similar to my own, although I’m in Scotland and I went for a ‘free’ hearing test with a view to considering private aids from them. I was massively upsold, with the most expensive HAs suggested as what I needed. No discussion on other options.

I see this as sharp practice, and I’d be out of the door immediately.

I needed MicroSuction for excessive wax when I was last fitted with NHS aids, and the hospital doesn’t do it. I went to a private clinic nearby, which was very professional and impressive in every way. I felt underdressed and not worthy . At no point in ths appointment, was there any suggestion of selling me their range of hearing aids. Totally professional.

I do appreciate, however, that in many parts of Scotland, it’s impractical to get to a Hospital Audiology department though.

Peter

I framed it as ‘I really need HAs to function and I couldn’t replace my private HAs immediately’.

That doesn’t seem unreasonable and the Nathos Novas (Bolero M70s essentially) are solid. I’ve got them set up with Roger licenses so they can so a fair job of replacing my KS10s.

I can dream that in 3 years Infinio Spheres will be on the NHS…

@garethjwells said:

I can dream that in 3 years Infinio Spheres will be on the NHS…

for sure, you should’ve gone to specsavers
We couldn’t get Paradise on the NHS, Sphere fuggitabtit
Not sure what the labour will do with NHS, if they will fund anything or cut cut cut.

If you’re in Wales then all of Wales hand out Danalogic Aids none Bluetooth even at the hospital.

Nottingham Ropewalk Clinic hand out Phonak Bluetooth.
Outside of the centre of Nottingham, they seem to hand out Siemens Aids none Bluetooth even at smaller hospitals. I have a friend in Nottingham.

Another friend is under Kent services for hearing aids and his hospital don’t hand out Bluetooth Aids so he’s just bought some Phonak Naida P70 UP on eBay to self program. He’s loving being able to stream now.

@Zebras are you Oxford/JR?

I’m due to see them at some point, I live off Bluetooth (MS Teams for work, audiobooks) and used to use earbuds/bone conduction headset, so I was wondering on the chances of a Bluetooth aid from the NHS.

I’ve currently got a pair of Lumity from Boots but at £3k I would really like to hand them back before the end of the 90 day trial.

@AlexE said:

are you Oxford/JR?

Yes JR. You’ll likely get Oticon which is LE Bluetooth. They seem to keep the Phonak for severe to profound.

You could go the DIY route and buy off eBay to get Phonak Classic Bluetooth which will connect to laptop.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/305749297061?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=eaoplxwusto&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=KUhnXMPcSoW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY35

These Aids can have thin tubes and domes attached to them.

I have Nathos Novas and yes they’re Bluetooth enabled. I was told, in here, they’re essentially Marvel Bolero 70 hearing aids in a generic case. Not quite as slick as the Paradise aids in handling BT connections but definitely useable.