Rechargeable power
A full overnight charge gives a day of wear including streaming. No fiddly batteries, and sealed casings resist moisture better.
Digital hearing aids
Digital hearing aids in London, fitted independently.
Modern hearing aids are small computers worn on the ear. This page explains what the technology actually does, the styles available, what it costs, and how we choose between Starkey, Phonak and GN ReSound for each patient at our Kensington and West London clinics.
What "digital" actually means
Every hearing aid sold today is digital, so the word has stopped meaning much on its own. What matters is what the processor does with the sound. A digital hearing aid samples incoming sound thousands of times a second, splits it into frequency bands, and amplifies each band by the precise amount your audiogram calls for — quiet high-frequency consonants get a lot of help, loud low-frequency sound gets almost none. On top of that prescription sit the features that separate a basic device from a premium one: how well it suppresses noise, how many directional microphone settings it has, and how quickly it adapts when you walk from a quiet room into a busy one.
This is why two hearing aids at very different prices can look identical. The physical shell is similar; the processing inside is not. In a quiet one-to-one conversation, an entry-level device and a premium one perform much the same. In a restaurant, they do not.
The features that make a difference
Bluetooth streaming
Calls, music, television and video sound go straight into both ears, at your prescription. This is often the single feature patients notice most.
AI and on-device processing
The newest chips separate speech from background noise using trained models rather than fixed rules — the difference is clearest in restaurants and groups.
Automatic environment switching
The devices classify the room and adjust directionality and noise reduction on their own. There is nothing to press.
Remote fine-tuning
Small adjustments can be made from the clinic to your devices through the app, without you travelling in.
Health and fall detection
Starkey's devices add motion sensors, activity tracking and fall alerts — genuinely useful for patients living alone.
If AI claims are what brought you here, the honest version is in AI hearing aids explained.
Styles
Receiver-in-canal (RIC)
The most commonly fitted style. A very small unit sits behind the ear with a thin wire carrying the speaker into the canal. Discreet, rechargeable, suits mild through to severe loss, and the easiest style to adjust as hearing changes.
Invisible-in-canal (IIC) and CIC
Custom-moulded devices worn deep in the ear canal and effectively unseen. Best suited to mild to moderate loss and canals with enough room; battery life and streaming are more limited than a RIC.
Behind-the-ear (BTE)
A larger casing with more power and battery capacity, coupled to the ear with a mould or thin tube. The right answer for severe and profound loss, and for patients who find small devices hard to handle.
In-the-ear (ITE / ITC)
Custom devices filling part or all of the outer ear. A useful middle ground — larger controls and better battery life than an IIC, while staying a single one-piece device.
More on the smallest devices in invisible hearing aids: what they are and who they suit.
The three manufacturers we fit
We fit Starkey, Phonak and GN ReSound. That is a deliberate, clinically motivated shortlist rather than a full catalogue — three ranges we know deeply are worth more to patients than a dozen we know superficially.
Starkey
Our overall pick for most private patients. Strongest range of genuinely invisible custom devices, on-device AI, and health and fall-detection sensors nothing else matches.
£5,190 a pair
Phonak
The strongest choice for connectivity. Audéo Sphere Infinio streams universally to iPhone and Android, with excellent speech-in-noise performance from its dedicated AI chip.
£5,750 a pair
GN ReSound
The most natural, open sound quality of the three, with excellent spatial awareness — a common choice for musicians and patients sensitive to processed sound.
£4,750 a pair
For the wider market — including brands we do not fit — see the 2026 brand comparison.
What's included, and what it costs
Every pair we fit includes a year of aftercare appointments, a five-year extended manufacturer warranty and a 30-day trial. Pairs are £4,750 (GN ReSound), £5,190 (Starkey) and £5,750 (Phonak); a single device is half the pair price plus £200. A 60-minute diagnostic hearing assessment is £150, and nothing is fitted or sold on the day of a test.
The full breakdown is on the prices page, and what the appointment involves is set out in what happens at a hearing test.
Common questions
- What is a digital hearing aid?
- A digital hearing aid converts incoming sound into a digital signal, processes it thousands of times per second, and delivers it back to the ear shaped to your individual hearing loss. Unlike the analogue devices they replaced, digital aids amplify only the frequencies you struggle with, suppress steady background noise, and adapt automatically as you move between environments.
- How much do digital hearing aids cost in the UK?
- Private digital hearing aids typically range from around £1,000 to £6,000 for a pair depending on technology level. At Drummond Hearing premium pairs are £4,750 (GN ReSound), £5,190 (Starkey) and £5,750 (Phonak), each including a year of aftercare appointments, a five-year extended warranty and a 30-day trial.
- Are rechargeable hearing aids better than battery ones?
- For most people, yes. A full overnight charge gives a day of use including streaming, there are no tiny batteries to change, and the sealed casing is more moisture-resistant. Disposable batteries still suit some patients — particularly very small custom devices and people who travel where charging is unreliable.
- Do digital hearing aids connect to my phone?
- All three brands we fit stream calls, music and video sound directly to the hearing aids. Phonak Audéo Sphere Infinio offers universal Bluetooth to both iPhone and Android; Starkey and GN ReSound stream directly to iPhone and to compatible Android handsets, and all three have apps for volume, programmes and remote adjustment.
- How long do digital hearing aids last?
- Around five to seven years of daily wear is typical. Performance is limited less by the hardware than by moisture, wax and the pace of software change — which is why aftercare, cleaning and periodic re-programming matter as much as the initial choice of device.
- Do I need a hearing test before buying digital hearing aids?
- Yes. A full diagnostic assessment establishes the type and degree of loss, rules out wax or middle-ear problems, and provides the audiogram used to programme the devices. Hearing aids fitted without one are guesswork.
Start with a hearing test, not a hearing aid.
A full diagnostic assessment tells us whether you need devices at all — and if you do, exactly which technology is worth paying for.
Book an appointmentPatients travel to us from Kensington, Chelsea, Knightsbridge and across West London.