Hearing Aid 2

Just over three years ago, I had a hearing test which confirmed that my hearing has somewhat deteriorated. The audiologist did assure that putting on hearing aid would help to restore some of my hearing loss back to a reasonable level (Read here). However, I did not pursue this further mainly because of the exorbitant cost of acquiring a set of hearing aid of acceptable quality.

Through the help of a relative, I managed to see an ENT doctor at a local government hospital at the end of February 2018 and followed up with a hearing test by an audiologist in early April 2018. At the end of the test, I was offered a variety of hearing aids to choose from to select a type of personal choice. I was advised by that specific audiologist against choosing the smallest type because they may not be that sensitive. I opted for the medium range which if worn would "unfortunately" be fairly noticeable.

The set selected would have looked like this!

When I was finally asked to pick up the set offered to me at a government appointed private outlet on 27 December 2018, the set is miniature and is hardly noticeable when worn. Unlike the earlier set used for the trial in April, this set has very little background noise. It is the background noise I believe that has discouraged many people from wearing the aid. But on second thought, it is probably the high cost of its acquisition that is the major hindrance.

The benefit of wearing the hearing aid was instantly felt. My TV volume is turned down from 50 at pre-wearing stage to 25-30 at post wearing stage. In the end, through personal experience, I have no hesitation in recommending to hearing loss sufferers to try out the hearing aids. 

I am one of those most fortunate to be able to acquire a set for free. As a spouse of a government pensioner, this is a benefit that I have to give credit to the Federal Government.