That is kind of you, thank you. I have not had the test done yet, it has only been a day, but I will sit and read your list properly beforehand rather than in the car park.

What I am less certain about is turning up with a list at all. The shop that sold me these never asked me a single question, so a list would not have troubled them in the slightest, and what I would rather find is somewhere that asks first and produces its own. If nobody does, I will use yours.

If you're in the U.S. and you have a Costco within reach, they are a good source for quality hearing aids at a more affordable price.

That's true. They are now a major player, but Costco offers a free hearing test, but it is not as comprehensive as the audiograms provided by trained audiologists. Their tests may not fully evaluate one's hearing needs compared to a detailed assessment from a hearing healthcare professional. Also, they mostly are staffed by instrument specialists (instrument technicians) with audiologists available depending on state regulations. Caveat emptor.

Agreed that for more complex hearing issues Costco may not be sufficient, but as you say, the test is free, and hearing aids purchased there have a six-month return window (no questions asked). All it costs is one's time to find out if they are a good solution.

Both of those are useful, and between them they have settled it for me.

The six month window is the part that matters in my case. My trouble is not hearing a tone in a quiet booth, it is the kitchen with the fan and the radio going, and no test of any depth is going to tell me what a pair does in that room. Six months is long enough to find out. A fortnight was not.

So I will take the free test with the caveat in mind, and if it turns out I want the more thorough sort I can pay for that afterwards knowing why. I have an appointment next week, which is further than I expected to get from a thread I found by accident.

I do hope you luck into an audiologist at your test, oldmanhenke. And best of luck with the hearing aids. I know I'd be a goner without mine.

Thank you, DrJBHL. I went on Thursday, as I said I would.

You were right about who does the test. The woman who saw me was very capable, but she was not an audiologist, and she told me so herself before we started, which I appreciated.

What I had not expected was the questions. Before anything else she asked where I found conversation hardest, which was exactly what I had said I was hoping for, and your list stayed in my pocket.

I have come home with a trial pair. They are not the two hundred dollar ones, and they are not cheap either. I have had four evenings with them, which is a long way short of the six months Victechnical mentioned, so I am not giving a verdict yet.

The kitchen is better, though not solved. With the fan going I can follow my wife if she is facing me. With the radio on as well I still cannot. That is further than the old pair ever got, and I intend to keep them long enough to find out whether it lasts.

Very glad you found this post!  Hope all goes well with you! 

Sounds like a discrimination problem. That's at the brain end of hearing. Phonak Lumity and Starkey Edge AI are the top rated ones...but they are quite expensive, sorry to say. If the finances are the deciding factor, they're way over $200. 

Anyhow, I do wish you the best of luck with whichever you choose. \the not so great part is that the hearing  loss/decreased discrimination could progress. I hope, slowly. 

Thank you, teddybearcholla. It was your thread to begin with, so it seems only fair that you hear how it is going.

DrJBHL, that is the same word you used a couple of weeks ago, discrimination, and I think it has finally sunk in properly. It was never really loudness that was the trouble with me. It is picking one voice out from the radio.

I do not know whether the pair I am trying is one of the ones you named, and I would rather not guess. The paperwork is in the drawer, and I will look before I go back at the end of the trial, because if they are not the sort meant for that problem I would like to know why I was given them.

The part about it getting worse is not news I wanted, but it is useful. It makes the length of a trial seem less like a luxury.

Please forgive me for not explaining earlier...

"Auditory discrimination is the brain's ability to differentiate between similar sounds (e.g., "bat" vs. "pat") and identify words in noise. This skill is distinct from pure-tone hearing thresholds and is often impaired by hearing loss, aging, or auditory processing disorders.

• Measurement: Audiologists assess this via speech discrimination scores, which measure the percentage of words a person can correctly repeat from a list at a comfortable volume. 

• Impact: Poor discrimination means speech may sound loud but garbled or unintelligible, particularly in noisy environments. 

• Causes: It can result from sensorineural hearing loss (Cochlea, and Auditory nerve problems), asymmetrical hearing, or central nervous system issues."