Reprogramming of hearing aid

SchrodingersCat

Hi!
My mother is hard of hearing and is currently using a Oticon Spirit 1 hearing aid (from what I remember). As she relies on it so much, I decided to try and buy a cheap spare one for her, in case anything ever happened to her current one. The plan was that if it did break, she could just swap the mould and keep going. I ended up buying a Oticon Spirit 3 from ebay.co.uk. She brought it to her hearing specialist who unfortunately refused to reprogram it. From speaking to her, I gather that he believed that it was "locked" to the NHS and thus should not have been sold, and could not be reprogrammed.

Anyway, before calling defeat, I was wondering if its true that the hearing aid cannot be reprogrammed? Also, if it can, is it possible for me to bring the hearing aid along with the prescription to some other specialist, even over the internet, who could reprogram it?

Nikam

Hi, its unusual but quite possible the software is locked. This practice is often used by large companies to ensure you return to them for any adjustments in the future.

SchrodingersCat

Thank you for the response Nikam. I would imagine that an organisation the size of the NHS would fit that description of a large company that could lock the software on the device.

Do you know of any service online that I could send the hearing aid and prescription to confirm that it is locked and if not, to get it programmed?

Nikam

I personally do not use Oticon software otherwise I could have had a look at it myself. I will make some enquires over the next few days to see if any of my colleagues can help.

SchrodingersCat

Nikam wrote: »

I personally do not use Oticon software otherwise I could have had a look at it myself. I will make some enquires over the next few days to see if any of my colleagues can help.

Nikam, that would be great! Hopefully it will be possible for me to get this programmed so that I wont have to get rid of it.

the_syco

SchrodingersCat wrote: »

I ended up buying a Oticon Spirit 3 from ebay.co.uk

How much did it cost?

=-=

Also, did a check, and the following is a hearing centre on the Oticon web site;

CORRECTIVE HEARING CARE LTDdst
C/O BES UNIT 4 Mc KINNEY IND EST
BT36 4PU NEWTOWNABBEY
Phone: 02890 838645
julieannelewis@btinternet.com

Contact them, and check if they have the machine to do so. It may be an idea to make an appointment and pop up with your mum, to get a program that suit your mum better.

SchrodingersCat

It cost me £60 from what I remember. Thanks very much for the address the_syco, unfortunately thats up in the North and I dont think it would be feasible for me to bring my mother up there for the hearing aid. I was just hoping that I could send it off along with her prescription to get it programmed. That said, I really appreciate your help.

Catkins407

This maybe late but my sons hearing aids were NHS and were programmed here locally. Once the audiologist has the software they can program them. Have you asked the manufacturer directly? Phonak UK were amazing for me they sourced somewhere for me to get hearing aid programmed and organised it for it to be done free of charge for me too. Technically hearing aids issued from the NHS remain the property of the NHS. I would request a copy of the settings to go on the hearing aid from your mothers audiologist so that if you do find somewhere they won't have to retest your mother. Have you tried the HSE? They work with that brand of hearing aid.