Sophie,
I would like to reply to your question, but first in full disclosure I am neither a hearing loss professional nor a hearing aid/cochlear implant user. But I am an educator with a background in students with profound cognitive and physical disabilities, as well as a qualitative researcher who “listens” to what people tell me in order to understand problems and create solutions.
So please take the following with the appropriate grains of salt. Over the past 4-5 years a group of passionate advocates and hearing device users in our area have been working hard to understand how to make a decision like yours in the context of changing technology as well as “what is becoming looped” in the US. Here’s what I have heard:
1) You want to hear and comprehend as best as possible everywhere across your daily life.
2) That means you want all the tools you can get and are able to work with – including pen and paper, Bluetooth, telecoils, and whatever creative means come along to include you in conversations.
3) Telecoils take up a small bit of territory in a hearing device.
a. People often want “the tiniest” hearing aids possible. So telecoils get left out. But also remember that tiny anythings often don’t go well with older eyes and fingers. Make sure you can manipulate your devices and forget about vanity!
4) You may also want rechargeable batteries. Some hearing aid manufacturers eliminated telecoils to fit in the rechargeables. But you can have both – ask for it.
5) People may say “I have Bluetooth. I don’t need telecoil.” This is like saying, “I have pepper. I don’t need sugar.” They are different, and you need to have both options!
a. There is a learning curve with both of these. So be kind to yourself and don’t get frustrated as you learn.
b. And remember that it isn’t always your fault if you aren’t hearing correctly through these systems!
6) You never know when your house of worship, or your senior center or wherever else you like to gather will “get looped”. You may or may not continue to travel at this point, but having telecoils at the ready means that you can use them anywhere when you do encounter a loop installed in a concert hall, taxi, church etc.
7) And as Sue Prichard above points out, you can also have your own personal loop for when you need more than your hearing aids. She uses hers with computer, for example, since there is no battery drain or “pairing” required, as well as for social gatherings to hear more than one speaker.
So, if I were in your position, especially since you might not get many more hearing aids, I would equip myself with a telecoil at this point, understand what they can from all the great literature and testimony out there, think about where I wish you could hear better and use the right tool for that situation. And then of course advocate to get hearing loops installed in those places. You are NOT the only one who needs to hear better in them!
I have also attached some thoughts along these lines that we have about “looping your life”. We have seen the dramatic impact it can make for our friends and families.