I went to audiology in an attempt to thwart the Bank Holiday Law
1 to get this loan-hearing aid replaced with something not half-broken squealy and annoying. I was an hour late into work which I am lucky is fine with by boss who "gets it" but grrr. I got a taxi up the evil hills road cos I have lurg and need to conserve spoons.
Audiologist had two spares. Both in a MORE fucked state than the one I have. Apparently I run my hearing aids at too high a volume
2 and I should have a lower volume and evil Automatic Gain Control
3 turned up instead. We conceeded that I am indeed better off with the half-broken one that I have than either of the ones she had. They don't officially have loaners and they've switched the contract from Cochlear to Oticon (competitor) and apparently my type of Cochlear Intenso BAHA isn't made anymore (have tweeted Cochlear UK to check this).
Audiologist failed the not speaking to deaf person while they have the hearing aid in their hand test which is slightly irksome and they should know better. She also told me my digital but not programmable BAHA is analogue... No, It Really Isn't. It is digital, just cos you can't program it on your computer does not mean it's analogue. Don't reinvent the meaning of perfectly good engineering words cos you don't understand it. We had this discussion before. I even mentioned my partner explaining this last time - apparently I'm to ask him again what that means... I forgot people gender people's partners as norm, it doesn't bother me that much, just grates a tad.
Grrr. Not audiologist's fault they don't have any working aids of my type. I am at least able to get in to sort stuff, a friend has to wait 3 months for an appointment to fix a broken earmould at her place
(woudn't catch me putting up with that shit). And if I had to buy my own replacements they'd cost between £2000 and £5000 each depending on where I was and if I had even slight insurance cover (US insurance usually excludes hearing aids). Also some NHS areas will twat about with funding for BAHAs with people having to care that audiology has to go to a panel and argue for the money. None of that for me, just a "your aids are irreparable, we've ordered replacements, arrival in somenum weeks". Very bloody lucky in that regard.
Welcome to life with hearing aids, where there are inevitable episodes of multiple audiology contacts during a bad phase, before I go back to not annoying them for years while aids behave!
1 Hearing aids will break on the Friday of any Bank Hol when audiology is closed until the following Wednesday or something. (or as recently on my bloody holiday away from home).
2 I should be able to run hearing aids at any valid volume without them going wrong somehow ffs. I know this aid is pushing the power envelope of bone conduction aids but grrr.
3 AGC is evil, I am hearing merrily enough, some noise happens and suddenly half the sound drops for some period of time leaving me unable to hear whatever I'm listening to till it comes back. This is inevitably someone's speech over background noise I can handle. I don't have recruitment (difficulty with loud sounds AND a hearing impairment) so I don't need this feature and ideally it'd be OFF but I compromise with it turned as low as it will go.