Hearing aids helped with my Tinnitus
Helen realised she had been in denial about the extent of her problems
W hen Helen Nourish’s husband joked that she was turning into her mother, she knew she had to seek help for her hearing. Her problems had become more apparent with the need to turn up the volume when she watched television and she was always asking people to repeat themselves.
“My mother wouldn’t get hearing aids, even though she obviously had aggravated hearing loss and needed them,” she says. “It used to drive me mad.”
Turning 60, Helen realised that she too had developed her own hearing difficulties. “It got to the stage where I couldn’t even hear the birds singing,” she says. “My husband John would laugh and say ‘You’re getting just like your mum!’”
As well as hearing loss, she was also experiencing a ringing in her ears – a symptom of tinnitus. After visiting another hearing clinic where she was given hearing aids. Helen, a former credit controller, was disappointed to find they didn’t do enough to solve the problems.
The dome that went into her left ear was so uncomfortable that she stopped using them altogether. “They made everything very loud, but with no clarity,”
A keen walker, golfer and bowls player, Helen’s social life began to suffer because of her hearing loss. “I couldn’t hear what was being said in groups, so I would sit not saying much – I felt like I was missing out,” she says.
When her family, including sons Luke, 46 and Simon, 43, began to notice her difficulties too, she decided she wasn’t prepared to put up with the situation any longer. She began to research online and soon discovered global hearing specialist Amplifon. After making an appointment at her local branch, she was immediately impressed by what she found.
“The audiologist did a very thorough test and was able to explain that the reason I was getting discomfort was because I had narrow ear canals,” she says. “She recommended some different hearing aids which were better suited for my small ears.” Since getting her new aids, her quality of life has improved enormously. “They are so comfortable I forget I’m wearing them,” she says. “The sound quality is much better and they even help with my tinnitus. Because I can hear other sounds better I don’t notice the ringing in my ears so much.”
The aftercare service offered by Amplifon was also a huge benefit. “I can pop in any time to have them tweaked,” she adds.
The technology involved in her aids has also made coping with her hearing problems much easier. One of the biggest advantages is that they connect to her iPhone so she can hear it ringing directly into her ear rather than from the phone.
Socially, she no longer feels awkward with friends and she can also chat with her two grandchildren, Sam and Poppy. “It’s wonderful to be able to chat to them on the phone and hear what they are saying at last,” she says. All in all, her life has been transformed thanks to Amplifon and she would not hesitate to suggest others to seek help. “I would definitely recommend Amplifon to others.”
“They are so comfortable I forget I’m wearing them” “I would definitely recommend Amplifon to others.”