Siemens Hearing are launching their latest addition to their hearing aid portfolio, called the Siemens Eclipse hearing aid. The Eclipse hearing aids are deep in the canal hearing aids that are virtually invisible when worn. What’s different about the Siemens Eclipse hearing aid is that instead of having a one piece hard casing, it has a detachable receiver for ease of cleaning which is surrounded in a soft foam. The soft foam means a greater degree of comfort for the hearing aid user when worn.

One Of the issues with fitting hearing aids of this type is the need for the sound outlet or receiver to be as close to the ear drum as possible. The reason for this is that the wearer may otherwise experience occlusion, or a blocked up feeling in their own voice when they speak. This is more so for people who have reasonably good hearing in the lower pitched notes. Having the extra sponge part at the end also means that the impression taken by the dispenser in order to make the hearing aid manufactured, does not have to be so deep. The deeper the impression, the greater the likelihood of potential problems, another reason why many hearing aid dispensers shy away from this type of deep fitting.

For more information call us today on 0800 0304 542

Local pub footballer Craig Beech who plays for the Mason Arms in South Yorkshire was ordered off the football field during a match by the referee for wearing hearing aids. Craig who has been hard of hearing since a child, had played more than 120 matches and never had a problem until the game against local rivals The Pewter Pot was halted as while the Masons Arms were losing 1-0.

Craig said  “My teammates were pretty angry and upset. I didn’t want to do anything to make it worse but they argued my point and even the other team said they were okay with it.”.

Mr Beech even offered to cover the hearing aids with a waterproof band that he uses when it is raining. Despite this the referee refused to allow the match to carry on unless Mr Beech either removed the hearing aids or left the pitch. Mr Beech said “If the ref blows and I don’t hear it, I might carry on and go in for a tackle someone is not expecting. Players even wear electronic tags on the pitch now and they are also more dangerous because they are really hard. And one of the opposition was wearing a tag“
His loyal team mates all left the pitch together in support of the decision and the match was abandoned. A report to the F.A. is being considered and no comment would be made by them until the mater had been discussed in full.

For advice on your hearing needs call us today on 0800 0304 542  

Siemens are launching their new platform Pure Xcel hearing aids, which is an upgrade on their “Best Sound Platform” on the 14th May this year. Their new Xcel Pure hearing aids are receiver in the canal technology and are said to have come top in 4 separate consumer categories, including best clarity of speech. They will also be launching the new Siemens Eclipse invisible in the canal hearing aids. What is unique about the eclipse hearing aids are that they have a soft sponge like attachment, which houses the receiver. Most deep canal hearing aids have been reported to have issues with poor comfort due to the hard plastic casing being fitted into the more bony part of the ear canal. The new soft coating also means that the impression that the dispenser takes, does not have to be as deep as other manufacturers, a major reason for many dispensers be discouraged from recommending deep canal hearing aids.

The hearing aid casings are also to be revamped from plastic to metal look for better cosmetic appeal. The Siemens Pure range is quite a complicated one that offers rechargeable batteries on their Pure and Carat hearing aids on battery sizes 13 and 312. They also have a Pure SE hearing aid which has a smaller size 10 battery and presently is limited to receiver output of 45db.

For loses greater than this range a 55db and 75db receiver is available but only in the Pure and the Carat range of hearing aids. Siemens new hearing aids coupled with their more competitive pricing structure are set to be viable competitor to the other main manufacturers.

For more details on any of the Siemens range, please call us on 0800 0304 542

Phonak have launched their new budget end hearing aid called Dalia hearing aids, to complement their new Spice range of BTE and ITE hearing aids which already include in order of technology rating the (1) Phonak Ambra hearing aids, (2) Phonak Solana hearing aids and (3) Phonak Cassia hearing aids. The spice technology also exists in their Audeo range and also their power Naida hearing aids.

The Phonak Dalia hearing aids have 4 adjustable channels  but also has a few of the popular Phonak features such as T-Coil, Noise block processing and a new level of ultra zoom technology when wishing to listen in noise.

This product should take over the Phonak Milo plus and provide a higher level of hearing ability at a low cost.

For more information on this or other Phonak hearing aids call us today on 0800 0304 542 

The term “hearing aid after care”, falls into 3 different groups, in terms of whom it is important to and then to why it is important. In terms of whom, there are actually three groups of individuals that after care is vital for, namely (1) the hearing aid user, (2) the hearing aid dispenser/company and (3) the hearing aid manufacturer.

The Hearing aid dispenser or the company 

For the hearing aid dispenser the main reason for providing proper aftercare is primarily to provide the best available customer satisfaction. For the hearing aid dispensers the customers satisfaction will bring rewards to the hearing aid dispensers and the company that they represent in the form of more business. That business will come initially from the end user that they provide good after care to in the form of repeat business and also in their recommendations from those happy customers. In short by “doing the right job” in the right way can only increase their business.

The Customer

Great after care is vital for the customer as it allows the hearing aids to be constantly reprogrammed over the years to enable the hearing aids to deal with the ever changing hearing loss. Simple after care can reap dividends as small but necessary maintenance such as cleaning the microphones and re-tubing the hearing aids. A blocked microphone port can prevent the sounds entering the hearing aid and hence reduce performance drastically. This is also so of the receiver outlet that can get blocked by dead skin and wax, causing a reduction in the hearing aid’s performance. Re-tubing hearing aids is a necessary job also because blockages in the tubing will prevent sounds entering the ear. Moisture issues are also a problem as the presence of moisture will drastically affect the quality what is finally heard through the hearing aids. That is why it is important to store your hearing aids in a dry place at night to discourage moisture from causing problems to your hearing aids. A hearing loss is a slow progressive deteriorative loss, which in other words means that the hearing aids will need to be continuously adjusted to compensate for the slow worsening that occurs. Each year, as a minimum guideline, hearing aids will need to be reprogrammed by your hearing aid dispenser to compensate for the loss. This will allow the performance of your hearing aids to be working at their optimum. A failure to have this basic service applied will only cause disappointment for the customer.

The Manufacturer

Manufacturers of hearing aids are constantly investing in research for better and newer developments and have done so for years. With the introduction of digital hearing aids, ongoing research has brought literally hundreds of new strategies and designs in their hearing aid models. There is no doubt what so ever that these developments can now produce far higher levels of satisfaction to the customer than ever before. However this all comes at a cost and what customers don’t realise is that the book price cost for one premium hearing aid is £1000. That figure may well be discounted depending on the number of hearing aid units that the company buys in a year. The danger of such discounts is that the independent dispenser may only sell that single manufacturers hearing aids, in order to maximise their profits and by doing so, will lose their true in-dependency. The hearing aids then have to be fitted and looked after, which then adds yet more costs to an already expensive product. 

The company supplying the hearing aids will then have their own overheads and running costs in terms of rent, rates, staffing, advertising, transport, wages and taxes. As costs grow and add up, it can be reasonable to see why hearing aids can cost so much. Some companies will even sell hearing aids and not provide any after care at all, especially if they have provided too low a cost to adequately cover all these costs. 

The object of any business should be to grow and any growth will be quicker when the provision of after care is dealt with correctly. Substandard after care will only lead to a substandard business that will not grow as a result. 

For more information or to be put in touch with hearing aid dispensers that care, call us on 0800 0304 542

Widex are about to launch their own version of invisible in the canal (IIC) hearing aids for people with an extreme desire to have their hearing issues noticed. The Widex IIC hearing aids are in direct competition with recently launched products such as the Starkey Otolens, Phonak nano and the Siemens i mini.

Lets hope that Widex are a bit quicker off the mark with getting their product to point of sale than they have been of late.

The Widex IIC hearing aids are a one piece sealed unit for the much needed durability of a hearing aid that is subjected to the old age problems associated of being fitted  so close to wax, moisture and body chemicals.

For more impartial information about the many various available options for your hearing needs call 08000304 854  

I recently read a web site post that said that whether you are considering NHS or private hearing aids, the first thing you need to do is to visit your G.P. I also read on the Action on Hearing Loss website that statistically 45% of people who went to their G.P. with concerns about their hearing, were NOT referred. So knowing and understanding the second statement to be true, means that the first statement might well be a good idea but you can only expect just over half a chance of having your hearing concerns or needs seen to as things stand.  

The reasons for this quite simply are that no matter what you may think, your G.P is not an expert about your hearing or hearing aids and will know even less about the technology contained within them, let alone what they are actually capable of. So when I hear that the G.P. has commented that NHS hearing aids are just as good as private hearing aids, I find myself bewildered to understand why they say it and who they think they might be helping by saying it.

Hearing aid dispensers fit hearing aids and cater to the needs of people with a hearing loss daily and if that hearing aid dispenser fits NHS hearing aids most or all of the time, then they will not be aware of all the available private hearing aid benefits.

I have the upmost respect for NHS hearing aid dispensers because unlke private hearing aid dispensers they have a minimal choice in the prescriptions that they can provide and even a lack the correct resources at their fingertips with what they fit. They certainly cannot always  have enough time to do their job justice because after all the NHS allotment of money is not as we know a bottomless pit.

Recently the Government agreed for ”Acquired Providers” to be allowed access to fit NHS hearing aids in certain areas. If a private independent hearing aid dispenser applies to be an acquired provider, I believe that they must firstly complete a thirty page plus document and then must agree to pay £2,000 to have an official from the NHS to visit them to make sure they are competent enough to fit NHS hearing aids and have the right equipment and environment to work in.

However once your reality pill kicks in, carrying out NHS, as part time work when you are already struggling in the dire economic times we know we are in these days, will only plunge us further into the mire. But that’s just my thoughts and not the thoughts of all private independent R.H.A.D.’s. Personally, if the standards of our work is not up to scratch, as I know it isn’t (see evidence based information via the recent which report on private hearing aids), then surely once those standards are right and properly monitored, then all NHS and private hearing aids can be fitted by every practising hearing aid dispenser in the country. At the moment I believe that will never be the case, which means that all of our available hearing aid provisions to fit in the U.K. are not being used to their maximum.

The voucher system as used in Southern Ireland is the only answer, rather than creating obstacles that are not practical or dare I say fair for all. If the which report was carried out on the NHS standards of service at the same time as they reprted on the private industry and highlighted those results, then private dispensers might NOT have been shown in the same light as they were!! Contentious? Libelous? But never the less published for comment!

Ask yourself why do the NHS still sometimes only fit one hearing aid, when there are countless evidence based reasons to always, but always to fit two? Tinnitus sufferers would be better off and people would hear better with two hearing aids, whilst not risking a quicker loss in the unaided ear. How many NHS monocles are prescribed through opticians?.

Whatever you choose to believe and even if you dispense hearing aids yourself within the NHS, your opinion matters to those who need the best advice at all times, the person with a hearing loss, who needs everyone’s help by pulling together.

So are NHS hearing aids as good as private hearing aids? No of course they are not as good as private hearing aids. Quantifiably, private hearing aids are far better, offering the latest technology, such as receiver in the canal hearing aids and far better cosmetic solutions that encourage more people to wear hearing aids as people with a hearing loss should always do.

Are NHS hearing aids rubbish. Quantifiably, No they are not rubbish, they are the best that they have ever been and our NHS patients are really lucky to have them despite the joke seems to tell you above. Also bear in mind that the manufacturers of hearing aids are well aware that they are supplying private and NHS hearing aids from the same factory and that there has to be reasons why people should pay for their own private hearing aids.

Some of those reasons are or should be more choice of styles, better technology, better hearing experience, quicker time scales at more convenient locations and dare I say it more time for the dispenser to offer a better range of services.

However if the private hearing aid market was as squeaky clean as it should be, I wouldn’t be writing this blog, so as always….buyer beware!!!!!

If you happen to watch the BBC program”Rip Off Britain re a well known private hearing aid company, don’t be fooled by what is clearly a gross misrepresentation of facts.

Call 800 0304 542 for more details

Oticon have launched their newest and smallest ever completely in the canal hearing aid called the Intiga i hearing aid. Oticon recently launched their Intiga range of receiver in the canal hearing aids and this latest addition of a new invisible hearing aid is totally designed for those with a more cosmetic appeal for wishing anonymity to others about wearing hearing aids.

The Intiga i is available at 2 price points and has a completely new shell design, engineered to prevent moisture and wax penetration that historically has dogged and damaged hearing aids that go deep into the ear. It also has some of the latest innovations such as the Oticon speechguard feature, which allows clearer speach when listening in noise.

    The major difference between this and previous models is that it goes far deeper into the clients ear canal thus allowing even better cosmetics when worn. Also by going deeper into the ear allows a lesser degree of the occurrence of occlusion or the feeling of your own voice sounding as though it is talking into a barrel. The bandwidth is an impressive 10khz which allows more of the potentially damaged or unheard sounds that allow greater enjoyment when listening to music.

As always you will not find a better price or after care service by buying your Oticon Intiga i hearing aids through Hearing Aids At Trade. To find out please call us on 0800 0304 542. 

Widex Hearing Aids have recently launched their latest range of super power receiver in the canal hearing aids (RIC )aptly named  “The Widex Super”. The Widex Super hearing  aids are designed to deal with the most severe to profound hearing losses but also incorporate their latest features, some of which work in tandem with
wireless accessories that can be linked to devices such as TV’s, and mobile telephones. The Widex Super hearing aids are powered by 675 batteries but being  based on their fusion range, are extremely discrete bearing in mind the other competitors equivalent products.

The Super Power comes in two levels of technology, (Super 440 and Super 220 respectively), hearing aid prices are the same as the equivalent in the
Clear range ie Widex Super440 is priced the same as the Widex Clear440. The Super hearing aids work on the latest  C-ISP platform on which the Widex Clear and Clear Fusion are based, and have compaitibility with all the DEX range of wireless streaming accessories to make life easier for people with severe or profound hearing loss. The latest range of Widex Super have so far reported to be quite popular due to the very real improvements over previous levels of technology including no whistling at all, Widex Clear can be fitted with a custom hard tip or a custom soft mould, double domes and tulip domes.

For more information on this or any Widex Hearing aids, call us today on 0800 0304 542