Hi Lisa I'm fairly new to hearing aids (got fitted 5 months ago) and although my aid gives me some benefit when I'm in bars and restaurants etc, I still have difficulty when I'm in a group situation or when there's background noise such as music in these places. My audiologist recommended learning to lip read as well as wearing my hearing aid so that I might be able to follow more of what's being said. I've posted the 'Hearing Aids & Windy Weather' in forums earlier today, because I find trying to hear with my hearing aid in very windy weather extremely difficult, much worse than trying to hear in crowds Regards Ian