Customer Experiences

Mum’s new hearing aids are like a miracle!

Mrs Sue Cunningham noticed that her Mum, Margaret Rugg-Easey, was becoming more and more withdrawn because of her poor hearing.

‘‘Mum was really struggling in social situations and people were no longer including her in conversations because it was quite hard work for everyone involved.

I cannot adequately describe the wonderful change Mum’s new hearing aids have made to her life; she’s more confident and so much happier.  She can listen to music again and can now watch any TV programme she chooses, instead of just those with subtitles. I can honestly say that it brought a tear to my husband’s eye when he realised just how well Mum could hear again.
I’m extremely impressed - the service Mum received from Stephen at Boots Hearingcare in Oxford has been excellent and Mum’s new hearing aids are like a miracle.’’

Mrs Sue Cunningham, Oxford

Ewan Gillies, Edinburgh

MY HEARING AIDS MADE ME FEEL LIKE ‘MEL GIBSON’!

Ewan Gillies, aged 45, is a director of a leading media agency based in Edinburgh.  He was enjoying a successful career when, ten years ago, Ewan noticed that he was finding it increasingly difficult to pick up what his colleagues and clients were saying in meetings.  “I could hear but it felt like people were talking very quietly or mumbling their words. I began to feel increasingly uncomfortable and anxious that I might miss something important being said.  The problem was at its worst when there was background noise or during a discussion where a few people spoke at the same time, especially in meetings and at busy restaurants.”

Ewan was referred to a NHS ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist.  He was tested and his hearing loss was confirmed.  After a short wait, Ewan was fitted with an analogue hearing aid.  “To be honest, it only helped to a certain extent.  My hearing was still fairly limited when I was wearing my aid and I would miss a great deal of what was being said.  I found conversations difficult; trying to fill in the gaps that I had missed was stressful.  I was doing a lot of sports coaching at the time and my aid was pretty useless in outdoor conditions, I’d hear a lot of whistling caused by the wind, which only added to my problem.”

“I struggled on for about nine years, which is incredible when I look back on it.  Then I met an old friend who had similar hearing difficulties to me and he recommended a visit to a Boots hearingcare Centre.  So I thought I’d give it a go and went along for a consultation and hearing test at my local centre”.

“I was utterly astonished to find out that I had nearly 50% hearing loss in both ears!  I had only ever worn one hearing aid and I was convinced that the problem was relatively minor, even though it was causing me great frustration.  My hearing aid audiologist explained that my situation was fairly typical.  He explained my options and showed me some of the sleek and stylish digital hearing aids that were now available.  I was pleasantly surprised at how discreet the devices were and impressed at the highly advanced technological features packed within such tiny units.  I opted for the Phonak Savia Art and I returned a week later to have them fitted in both ears.  My hearing aid audiologist was extremely helpful and he arranged a couple of follow-up appointments so that I could come back for my hearing aids to be fine-tuned.”

“On the day my hearing aids were fitted it was like the scene from the film, ‘What Women Want’ with Mel Gibson when he can hear women’s voices.  I was walking around in Boots and I could literally hear everyone and everything!  It’s hard to put into words the dramatic improvement the aids made.  For the first time in years I felt back to normal.  My friends have all noticed that I join in more group conversations whereas before I would only ever speak to the people sitting directly next to me.  They also told me how frustrating it used to be trying to talk to me at times.  I still can’t believe I struggled on for as long as I did.”

Carol Carbine, Wales

THEY ARE PROBABLY THE BEST HEARING AIDS I’VE WORN

Carol Carbine, aged 43, is a manager with a national charity and has been wearing hearing aids for 15 years. She was fitted with ReSound Azure digital hearing aids. Carol was delighted with her hearing aids; “They are probably the best aids that I have worn to date. The quality of sound is really good; it’s really clear and I am very happy with it.  I don’t need to switch programmes as much as I used to with my other aids; I use one programme pretty much all the time now.  They are easy to use and therefore easy to forget about.  I love the Bluetooth as well.  The flexibility it gives to someone in my position is great.
I would definitely say to someone in my situation  - try them”.

Carol wrote a diary over 13 weeks as she adjusted to using her new hearing aids. Below are just a few extracts of her journey to better hearing.

Monday - day 1
A sense of excitement and anticipation – I’m having my fitting of new Azure hearing aids.  Decided to try the thin tube instant fit moulds – the aids come with carry case and cleaning rod etc, which is really helpful as these are the things you need and they can easily get lost or damaged in the bottom of a handbag. As expected the world now seems very loud, as I had been warned. I wore them for most of the day.

Wednesday – day 3
Very tired last night, it’s been a bit of an emotional roller coaster, which is to be expected at this stage.  Trying to learn to adjust to new hearing aids and function at normal level is a big challenge. I’m also trying to resist the temptation to go back to my old aids, as I know this will only confuse my brain and lengthen the process.

Thursday – day 4
One-to-one meeting today, in a meeting room with no background noise and a reasonably clear/confident speaker, a positive experience and I coped well.

Saturday - day 6
Group conversation indoors over lunch – I coped pretty well; however the person on my right was a bit too loud, although everyone else in the group was ok.

Sunday - day 7
Day of rest for me and my brain - no hearing aids all day!

Monday – day 8
Went to the Travel Agent today and managed well in the one-to-one discussions and even managed to follow when someone was walking away from me – great progress!

Thursday - day 11
Went to see my Optician today, he has quite a low voice, which can be a problem for me, but I coped well in his nice, quiet consulting room. Wow – I can comfortably listen to the radio and was even able to turn the volume down!

Tuesday - day 16
Small group meeting today, I had to park some distance away and walk along busy road.  The wind noise walking along road is much improved when using programme 2 on my hearing aid. I can still hear it, but it is much softer and more bearable.

Summary
On the whole I like the Azure hearing aids, the size style and weight are modern, attractive to look at and easy to wear. I think the quality of the sound and the clarity is far better than my previous aids and would certainly recommend them to other people.  

Cecilia Lilley, Llanfairfechan

Fantastic - I can hear the birds singing again!

Cecilia Lilley, from Llanfairfechan, first started to notice her hearing was fading when she began having trouble hearing the phone when it rang and had to keep turning the TV volume up just so she could hear it.

Cecilia says, “I joined lip reading classes, which helped me a little, but conversations still required a lot of guesswork.”

Cecilia was put off by the NHS waiting lists, and the basic selection of hearing aids available; she struggled on with her hearing loss for many years. It wasn’t until recently, when Cecilia learnt that her local David Ormerod Hearing Centre in Llandudno offered free hearing tests and advice about modern hearing instruments that she decided to seek help.

Cecilia continues “When I went for my hearing test I found the hearing aid audiologist friendly and reassuring and I was made to feel very comfortable throughout my assessment.”

After talking through her options with her hearing aid audiologist, Cecilia decided upon a pair of Audéo digital hearing aids, which she found were not only small and stylish, but also incredibly comfortable. In fact, they’re so small and light she’s hardly aware that she’s wearing them.

Since being fitted with her hearing aids Cecilia has never looked back. As a nature lover she now realises just how much she has been missing everyday sounds that most people take for granted – the simple things like birds singing, a flowing river or walking through rustling, autumn leaves.