Deafness and Birding! - Merlin App & Microphone. (1 Viewer)

[akwe-xavante]

I thought i would google NHS Vs Private hearing aids to find that the four main differences are "greater choice of design and colour", "Cost", "Invisibility" and the "waiting time".

No discussion about whether one was better or worse than the other, in fact a number of websites specifically say that integrally they are the same and made by the same companies, just packaged up differently outwardly. Invisible hearing aids are by far the most popular when going private, perhaps because theirs a stigma attached to deafness and wearing visible hearing aids.

No website discussing, and reviewing, the differences between the two even suggests that there may be a better or worse hearing aid that for recovering lost sound to the ear. Some say that you won't notice a difference at all.

So paying gets you greater choice of design and colour, invisibility, and you get them a lot faster than through the NHS. They are no better at recovering lost sound to the ear at all.

 

[akwe-xavante]

Rode mic is great for this purpose; I have hearing loss and use this mic and Merlin to compensate. Here's the lightning connector version, I think: VideoMic Me-L | Smartphone Microphone | RØDE
(Non-lightning connector versions should be on that site too.)
Make sure to get the cat/windsock to reduce noise from wind and your footsteps.

Thank you, Brad Hacker

I've used the app every day for a week so far, and it's really making a big difference.

I had no idea i was missing so much.

I don't think birders really appreciate just how often they hear something first before they look and find the bird they have heard.

Decided i need an additional power pack / bank first. Then i need to explore a way of making the smartphone hands free but visible, such as a runner's arm band type thing, perhaps.

 

[Jon.Bryant]

So paying gets you greater choice of design and colour, invisibility, and you get them a lot faster than through the NHS. They are no better at recovering lost sound to the ear at all.

I can't remember my wife being offered NHS hearing aids - I see on the internet eligibility depends on various things including the type and severity of hearing loss, so perhaps she didn't meet the criteria?

Alternatively, perhaps my wife swallowed the sales pitch of the audiologist. We definitely received quite a bit of sales bumph before buying, so I am nit sure I understand the comments that private manufacturer's do not market - in fact I recently got some marketing material with a magazine.

I am note sure how the hearing aids compare to NHS, but these are a few comments on my understanding of my wife's hearing aids.

1. Yes they are very discrete and hardly noticeable - but my mum recent NHS hearing aids are very similar, sitting in the ear canal, with just a small wire extending to the main hearing aid tucked behind the ear. In fact I suspect that hearing aids that 'top up' lost frequencies probably need to sit in the ear canal. My wife's and mum's 'earbuds' are 'open' so that external sound can still reach the eardrum, whereas my dad's old NHS hearing aids have a molded piece that sits in the ear, basically blocking any external sound reaching the ear - so everything you hear is through the hearing aid.
2. My wife's hearing aids are very difficult to dislodge, fitting well in the ear canal, with the external wire tight against the side of the head. By contrast, my mum has had great problems keeping her hearing aids in place. This may well be due to dexterity and making sure they are properly inserted in the ear canal in the first place. It may also be due to the skills of the audiologist, as the wires have to be bent to properly fit the user's ear dimensions. That said, my mum's NHS hearing aids feel more floppy and the wire less shaped than my wife's, so the fit also seems to be less positive.
3. The frequency range on my wife's hearing is is reportedly is split into 24 bands (roughly 800Hz per band), which can be individually programmed by the audiologist based on your test results. I presume that this ensures that the devices can be accurately programmed to match your hearing loss accurately. Obviously both hearing aids can be programmed separately. I am not sure if NHS aids have this same level of finesse, or if programming is courser.
4. My wife's hearing aids have been programmed to prevent feedback, so no whistling. Very different to my dad's old hearing aids that whistled horribly every time you went near them, but I am sure NHS hearing aids probably have improved in this respect.
5. My wife's hearing aids have preset programs - so for example the hearing aids can cut down noise when in crowded and noisy environments. I notice that in some comparison charts, some hearing aids are better in noisy environments than others. Perhaps not an issue to consider for birding - although some environments can be rather noisy (particularly cicadas! - or perhaps a natter, when you meet friends!).
6. Through a smartphone you can control an equaliser, so can for example boost high pitched sound in the field. Again, not sure if this is the same for for NHS hearing aids, as my mum doesn't have a smartphone! My wife can also control volume through her phone, which I think can be done separately for each ear - I seem to remember a scenario being discussed, when in a car and you want to block out either the road noise (or the talk from the passenger!).
7. Forums suggest that the more expensive hearing aids have better audio quality, but as I cannot listen to my wife's or compare with others, I cannot confirm if this is correct.

Several forums suggest that the Audiologist is as important as the hearing aids, which I can imagine is true. They also say it is important to have an REM (Real Ear Measurement) test. After that, I can imagine that NHS or none NHS hearing aids is a matter of choice - and that the differences are not huge. However, depending on what type of birding you do, you may well want hearing aids suitable for an active lifestyle, and that have presets for different activities and environments - we were recently scrambling up and down steep slopes in an Ecuadorian Cloud Forest, and can only imagine what a pain it would have been, if my wife's hearing aids had not been secure and had kept falling out. Birding may not be the most active hobby, but at times it is not that sedentary either!

 

[akwe-xavante]

I think everybody in the UK is entitled to a free NHS hearing test and aids without restriction. The only restriction perhaps being that your GP refers you onto the NHS audiologist and that your hearing must have suffered an amount of loss, and hearing aids would improve your hearing. NHS hearing aids are not means tested, everybody qualifies if your hearing has suffered.

If you firstly go to boots or specsavers for example they're not going to tell you to go to your GP first or refer you to an NHS audiologist directly because you are / may be entitled to free NHS hearing aids, they want to sell you hearing aids privately. They are not going to say "Go get an NHS test first to see if you need hearing aids, then come back to us, and we'll sell you a pair privately"! ..... most won't go back and pay for them, well not initially anyway. Some might if they think private hearing aids have something extra to offer that NHS aids can't give in some way, such as invisibility. They won't say we'll test your ears to see if you qualify for free NHS hearing aids, but don't worry, you can buy some from us if you want too!?

My NHS Hearing aids are external over the ear. Ugly things they are. They are Bluetooth which allows connection to a wide range of devices such as a smartphone, the car, and the TV etc. You can and i have also downloaded an app to control the hearing aids left and right independently in certain circumstances too.

NHS hearing aids have two presets, the first is a default preset depending on your hearing test, the second is loop. In addition to this, i think you can add another 8. I have the first two default presets and two others. Greater gain to higher frequencies with 360 degrees coverage with and without filters. Greater gain to higher frequencies, meaning that i can hear some additional higher frequencies when in a quiet place. 360 degrees meaning all four microphones on both sides, four to the left, four to the right. Filters, meaning that the hearing aids will block high volume sound and excessive wind interference momentarily to protect the ear automatically.

When i get them wet i just put them over a radiator for an hour, and they're good to go, i occasionally take a dunking when white water canoeing. On long haul canoe camping trips, i sometimes struggle to dry them out if the sun's not shining. I always have a spare pair but when i lose a pair or just one, i just send an email and a new one or pair usually arrive within a few days by post. When i'm going on holiday, usually on a remote long haul canoe camping trip overseas somewhere, i sometimes ask for a spare pair, which usually arrive in the post a few days later.

It is easy to dislodge my NHS hearing aids and i sometimes lose them, but i also know that i have spares and i can get free replacements fairly quickly and always before the following weekend's activities.

 

[akwe-xavante]

Moving forward.

My existing Android smartphone has a MicroUSB port.

Decided to take the step to purchase an external microphone. The Merlin App is power hungry, so i've decided i need a self powered Mic.
It looks as though i need a MicroUSB/3.5mm jack adaptor too.

No plans to record sound.

I've decided not to spend too much just yet, i'll wait a year at least and until i change my phone for something new.

Thought about buying one of these "For Now": MicroPhone will it be as good as the smartphones integral mic?

If not, what would you recommend, don't want to be lugging around something bulky or awkward. Remaining "Hands Free" is important for now.