KimKat, ir is hard in a noisy environment. Try to turn your back to the source of noise, a band, a noisy crowd, etc. Concentrate and look at the person speaking to you, you probably still have to lip read. Just say to people on the phone that you are deaf and please to speak more clearly. That is a big hurdle to cross but it works. Don’t let them shout at you. Telemarketers often give up at this point!!! I am profoundly deaf and digital hearing aids do not help me. The compression ones take all my little remaining hearing in the upper register and transpose it to the lower register where my hearing is better.
You can get telephones that type out the speech you are hearing on a screen, like instant messaging.
Oh, and you should move to Australia, hearing aids are free to seniors. I have paid heaps for hearing aids in the past and not been able to wear them.
Go to any hearing aid shop and see if they can adjust your hearing aids for you, you may be able to do it somewhere that used to stock your type of aids.