It was a private consultation and cost £120. It lasted 2 hours.

Was it worth it? Very much so. I learned a lot. Could the chap help me “ maybe” his words.

Depending on how bad your hearing is determines if hearing aids will “work”.

I now know that if sounds are outside my say pitch range it sort of shuts down. Volume the same, high or low out of your ears range.

In the last year some manufacturers have developed AI microphones that I assume programmed to your hearing ranges can pick up sounds that it out of your range and convert to be within your range. That’s the gist of it.

The chap could see that I had been a diver as due to the cold water a particular bone structure in my ears has grown larger than a non divers would.

He can provide me with hearing aids plus microphone but the cost could be getting up to £7,000. The microphone costs about £1,800.

With this chap you do not pay for the equipment unless satisfied. You are paying him for his time £60 per hour.

He did the same tests that I have had at the NHS, Specsavers and Boots but slightly differently. The Thumb Button!

However there are no guarantees that these will work well enough to justify the cost.

So I am balancing cost against benefit. Is it worth spending say £4,000 to £7,000 for what will be minimal gains, probably not!

I can hear Ann and the TV but if out at pub etc. background noise and acoustics come into play and rubbish everything.

I have bought a microphone suitable for my hearing aids and it’s a great help but still limited.

If your hearing aids have Blue Tooth get a microphone to suit.

Allan C.