PRESTON, England, Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ —
In the UK we are fortunate enough to have a free provision of hearing aids by way of the
NHS. Over the last few years, the NHS has switched from analogue to
digital hearing aids for
the majority of patients. These hearing instruments are of a
reasonable quality and are programmed to match the patients hearing
loss. Fantastic! I hear you say, but there’s perhaps a little
more to this situation than meets the eye.
In order for a hearing impaired person to achieve the maximum
benefit from hearing instruments, there are several bases that need
consideration:
Technology
Hearing aid manufacturers are producing fantastic new technology
at an amazing rate. Unfortunately this technology takes a long time
to reach the hands of the NHS audiologist. This is as a result of
the processes involved in getting new hearing instruments made
available the NHS. This is in no way a criticism of the NHS. I can
appreciate that a huge organization such as the NHS requires time
to evoke changes – especially if new technology is emerging
thick and fast. New products require training for the audiologist
to make the most of the new features. The manufacturers simply
would not have the capacity to train an organization the size of
the NHS on an on-going basis. The result is the hearing impaired
NHS patient cannot receive the best technology available.
Cost
New technology hearing instruments typically carry a higher
price tag. Hearing aid manufacturers are not charities and they
need to recoup their research and development costs – and
make a profit to keep their shareholders at bay.
Cosmetics
Many hearing impaired people put off getting hearing aids as
there is still a stigma attached to wearing them. The ultimate
motivation for them to do something is when their
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