How long do hearing-aids last?
Years ago a Doctor stumped me when I asked how long my child would be ill (a minor cold). He said “how long is a piece of string?”. He meant there are so many factors to consider.
With hearing aids, there will be advances in electronics every five years. If you still have analogue aids you are a rarity. If you want to keep them you can. My 80-year-old colleague said he didn’t get on with digital aids but in the end the analogue ones were not giving him enough clues to what people were saying.
If you stand on it, or immerse it in water for an hour, it lasts no time at all. My grandma’s dog ate my mother’s aid. Whatever the outcome, my mother was not going to wear it again! Failing these accidents, an aid should last and this is a maximum, about five years. If you have hearing aids that are older, ask your GP for a referral to your local hospital or search our list of independent hearing aid audiologists. All are kind, caring people. You will just see the same person every time in the independent sector and they will take a long-term interest in your hearing. In the NHS it is really, there you are and goodbye. We are the support. Try our Hearing Tips for a light-hearted look at hearing to make managing hearing loss easy. It's easier amongst friends.
Last longer than five years?
I met a guy in a hospital audiology clinic who had taped up the tubing on his behind-the-ear hearing-aids in the hope of getting more hearing. Unfortunately he had not been picked up by a charity or independent audiologist before that. They would have told him that the tubing needs to be kept flexible in order to conduct sound. Tubing goes hard and brittle after six months’ use and needs changing. A local deaf charity will do that for you (in Surrey, Hampshire and Somerset that is deafPLUS – branches in Farnborough, East Acton (London), Birmingham, Bath and Somerset).
Guarantee on hearing-aids
There is probably a standard guarantee of a year. Ask an independent audiologist. They browse our forums from time to time so if you want to ask any question at all about your hearing, for free, they are willing to do that. As one told me, it’s what he does every day. The forum is always free to join in and is available 24/7 365 days a year. You can be as anonymous as you like and you can read other people’s answers.