"Brought up in Manchester, home of brass bands and lusty singing voices, I cannot remember a time when music was not at the centre of my life. Having been professionally trained as a musician (classical) and being married to a professional pianist and piano teacher in St Albans, I am especially sensitive to tonal quality both in speech and music. My profound sadness is that I can no longer enjoy this first love of my life. I now have roughly 50 per cent hearing loss in both ears and suffer from tinnitus, which I first experienced about 35 years ago. In particular, consonants are not clear and tonal quality is lost in speech and in vocal and instrumental music.

That my hearing loss might be significant first came to my attention about fifteen years ago when my wife said ‘there’s a man outside with a Volvo’. I sprang to action stations because I thought she said ‘there’s a man outside with a revolver’. This was a defining moment.

The exact cause of my hearing loss is unknown but performing professionally in orchestras and bands for some years, in which I sat in front of the percussion section, may have had some impact.

Ten years ago my GP referred me to St Albans Hospital where, after three visits over a period of five weeks, a single (right ear) analogue hearing aid was fitted. This resulted in improvement in hearing speech but I could still not hear music properly, especially classical.

About three years ago I became aware that a limited number of hospitals were piloting the use of digital aids for a few patients and I asked my GP for a referral. As a result my current pair of digital hearing aids, Danavox 163 made in Denmark, at a London hospital. The fitting process took three months and the aids were tuned for three situations by selection; general use, single speaker use and music listening. My expectation from these digital aids was improved clarity of speech sounds and better tonal quality of sound.

Unfortunately my digital hearing aids were not well adjusted the first time, and ultimately took about two years to get right. In particular, one programmed level did not focus selectively, making it hard to hear in seminars or group discussions, and any large gathering of people was painful due to the cacophony of sound. Another level intended for music, made music sound metallic and lacking warmth of tone.

Following routine appointments in 2002 and 2003, I sought advice from the Defeating Deafness Information Service about whether my aids were capable of being better tuned. Defeating Deafness clarified some technical points and advised me to seek another appointment. Two follow up appointments, armed with the right questions, have resulted in much better programming, including good hearing for speech and group discussion, with improved hearing for music.

I am now fairly happy with my digital hearing aids and especially grateful for the efforts of the individual audiologist whom I now try to see each time. While I still have difficulty hearing in large gatherings of people, I have every hope that my present audiologist will be able to make a further improvement on my next follow-up visit.

Digital hearing aids are sophisticated, calling for highly skilled tuning and I urge you not to give up if you feel they not programmed properly - get another appointment and make sure you get the best out of your hearing aids."

Getting A Hearing Aid

If someone in your family is finding it harder to hear and might need hearing aids, the first thing they should do is visit their GP to get a referral. Defeating Deafness urges people to get on the waiting list for digital hearing aids on the NHS as soon as possible. In some areas, waiting times for digital hearing aids are very long, and Defeating Deafness, the UK's medical charity for deaf and hard of hearing people, says people should visit their GP as soon as they become aware that their hearing might be getting worse.

"Hearing loss is extremely isolating because of the communication barriers it creates between the sufferer and the outside world, particularly family and friends," according to Defeating Deafness Chief Executive Vivienne Michael. "It's a fact of life that, for many people, hearing deteriorates as they get older and hearing loss is the most common disability among people over 60. Unfortunately, too many people don't want to admit that their hearing is not as good as it once was and put off going see their GP."

Research has shown that people who get a hearing aid while their hearing loss is still mild adjust better to using one than those who leave it until their hearing has deteriorated significantly. By following Defeating Deafness' guidelines, patients will get much more from their hearing aid, and will therefore be more inclined to wear it, Ms Michael said. To encourage people to get their hearing tested and get the best performance from their hearing aid, Defeating Deafness has a range of free information available, created with input from some of the UK's leading hearing aid researchers and audiologists.

For free information about hearing aids, or any other aspect of hearing impairment, contact the Defeating Deafness Information Service at email info@defeatingdeafness.org, freephone 0808 808 2222 (Mon-Fri 9.30am-5.30pm) and textphone (020 7915 1412).