ReSound Linx: The Patient's View

Back in February I announced details on this blog about the new 'made for iPhone' hearing aid, ReSound Linx. We have tremendous feedback from our patients regarding this product, and as a hearing care professional it is a dream to work with.

Rather than me keep telling you about what our patients think, I thought I would let one of our patients talk about it themselves.

Written by Hearing Care Centre patient Mr Parkinson...

I have resisted buying a hearing aid for nearly 10 years as I thought it probably wouldn't make much difference to my hearing and be far more faff than benefit. I also wasn't keen on the hearing aid  'look' either as I'm still only 41! But when I temporarily lost the hearing in my other 'good' ear at Easter, I started researching the options fast. 

I initially chose the Resound LiNX 9 because it reportedly had great sound quality and it looked small and discreet. And as a bit of a techie geek, I also liked the idea I could integrate it with my iPhone to hear calls, music and audio books - directly in my ear.

I was nervous about paying so much for a hearing aid as a 'first timer' and probably only committed because of the money-back guarantee. However, the product is awesome. 

Why do I like it so much? Well, I can now hear much better for a start! In particular, I find I no longer struggle to hear colleagues at work - even during large meetings. And whilst other hearing aid users I know complain of feedback and issues with background noise, I haven't experienced these with the LiNX. Most of the time I forget I’m even wearing it as the ‘softswitch’ mode manages the sound levels so well that the result is natural with no unexpected surprises.
And I do like its style and compactness. I chose a black one and no-one notices I'm wearing it, especially as I don't need to touch it once it's in my ear because all the settings are controlled from my iPhone.

I've put the ‘Resound Smart’ app on the bottom bar of my iPhone so I can access it quickly from any screen. This makes it easy and discreet to change the volume or switch between different modes such as 'restaurant' or 'traffic' or 'music' etc. I don’t do this very often but sometimes if there is a lot of ambient noise behind me, a quick switch to restaurant mode can help me hear the person who's talking to me more clearly.

I have a couple of little niggles with the app. The battery-life indicator could be better. After 3 weeks of showing full power, it suddenly went from full to flat in a day. A problem if you forget to carry spare batteries. The other issue is that when the iPhone first connects with the LiNX via Bluetooth, the app shows a spinning indicator that implies it's taking a while to make a connection. In fact it is connected, it is just synchronising and updating the data from the hearing aid to the iPhone - maybe a ‘connected and updating’ message would communicate this better as I certainly found the Bluetooth connection to be fast, reliable and consistent.

In short, because of its cost and the promise of technical excellence I had extremely high hopes for the LiNX, and I certainly haven't been disappointed. The irony is, despite it's small size and discreet management my colleagues and friends do know that I’m wearing it as I can’t help but show the thing off.

 

For more information on ReSound Linx, please visit www.hearingcarecentre.co.uk/linx

Over 172,000 People in Suffolk Will Have Hearing Loss by 2031

This week you may have seen on BBC News and local radio, a new report that suggests one in five of the population will have a hearing loss by 2031.

The study was commissioned by the International Longevity Centre, and if we look at the figures at a more local level, this will account for more than 172,000 in Suffolk alone.

Currently the figure stands at one in six, however with an ever-growing population, currently 8.7% over ten years here in Suffolk, this is set to dramatically rise.

The number of people with hearing loss has been on the increase for many years now. It was one in seven, now it’s one in six and before long it will be one in five. As age increases to 75-85 that figure becomes one in three!

For me the problem isn’t the rise in the number of people with hearing loss, but more that people wait too long to have their hearing checked. Unlike with sight or teeth checks, it takes people around 10 years to book a hearing test! That’s 10 years of not being able to hear your family properly, struggling in group social situations, hearing music or not hearing the birds sing.

This report builds on the evidence that highlights the profound individual, family and societal consequences of hearing loss. We know hearing loss compounds social isolation and loneliness, particularly for older people and can act as a barrier for socialising with family and friends, employment and other recreational activities.

If you or a loved one are struggling to hear, I urge you to book a hearing test. Help can be provided privately or on the NHS by way of hearing aids, which nowadays are so small and discreet that nobody need know you are wearing them.

For more general information on hearing loss visit www.hearingcarecentre.co.uk or www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk