NHS-SpecSaver aids
I posted this before but it bears repeating.
You can see your GP and get an NHS Audiologic assessment. A basic NHS aid fits behind the ear (BTE) and a tube carries the sound into a large moulded plug, although not now in many trusts. Spec Savers has been contracted to provide hearing aid services. The use a much thinner tube, practically invisible, and tiny plugs that fit right in the ear.
For my first SS aids I was given plugs without any test fitting. One was painful and I asked for a smaller plug; it worked. Sometime latter I found the other ear was also sore. A second smaller plug fixed that.
You can then get a new test every year or sooner if there is a problem. You are entitled to replacement every 3 years.