7 Tips For Choosing The Right Hearing Aids
Choosing the right hearing aids is essential to help treat or manage your hearing loss while ensuring you’re maximizing your investment.
Hearing loss can be diagnosed by type, including sensorineural, conductive, noise-induced, tinnitus, unilateral, and bilateral hearing loss, to help determine the best hearing aid for your hearing issue.
Considering the many hearing aids available today, picking suitable ones can be challenging. But fear not because these tips will help you choose the right one for you or your loved one.
How To Choose The Right Hearing Aids
Here are seven tips to keep in mind when looking for the right hearing device:
1. Consider The Features You Need
Thanks to technological advancements, most hearing aids have many different features that ensure your device gives you optimal functionality.
Knowing the features you’ll need the most can help you find a suitable device. For instance, your listening device should have tinnitus-masking qualities if you have tinnitus.
Hearing aids have different features to help improve your hearing. They include:
- Bluetooth connectivity;
- Rechargeability;
- Smartphone compatibility;
- Telecoils;
- Directional microphones;
- Automatic programming;
- Remote controls;
- Synchronization;
- And background noise reduction.
You may also find hearing aids with tv streaming features that you can connect to your TV.
2. Get A Hearing Test Done
Hearing assessments are crucial before buying hearing aids because they help determine the best hearing device for your condition.
They allow your audiologist to learn your hearing loss background, its cause, hearing ability, and any medical conditions impacting your hearing.
The hearing evaluation may consist of multiple tests, including:
- A speech recognition test;
- Traditional pure tone test;
- Bone conduction test;
- And auditory brainstem test to examine your auditory system’s function.
With the help of your hearing test results, the audiologist can recommend the right hearing aids for your hearing problem based on your lifestyle and budget.
3. Consider Style
Hearing aids are of various styles. Some are best suited for specific types of hearing loss:
- Behind-the-ear hearing aid addresses all levels of hearing loss.
- They have a recent style called open-fit hearing aid which lets the ear canal stay open.
- Receiver-in-canal hearing aid treats mild to severe hearing loss, while in-the-ear listening devices address mild to severe hearing loss.
- A completely-in-the-canal hearing aid helps with mild to moderately severe hearing loss and is barely noticeable.
- If you have severe to profound hearing loss, a power hearing aid would be best suited to improve your hearing.
Depending on whether your hearing loss is mild, moderate, severe, or profound, your audiologist or a hearing aid specialist can recommend the best device for you.
4. Look At Your Budget
Hearing aids differ by cost. In the United States, pricing can range from around $1,000 to $6,000. However, the average price is nearly $2,500.
Technology is the primary element influencing hearing aid pricing. But how often the tips, batteries, and earwax guards should be replaced can also influence the price.
Most companies sell these devices as part of a package that may include hearing tests, the hearing aid, fitting the hearing aid, device adjustment, routine cleaning, and warranty.
To cut costs, you can pay for the device alone or with lesser benefits.
If your health insurance doesn’t cover hearing costs, look for other alternatives to help with the expenses.
Your hearing aid manufacturer may provide flexible finance plans. So, consider checking them out.
5. Consider Customization Options
If you want your hearing aids customized to your hearing loss to ensure they align with your hearing requirements, look at the available customization options.
For this, an in-person hearing assessment and buying your hearing device via an audiologist would be ideal.
Unlike online tests, in-person evaluations are thorough, and the hearing specialist can diagnose your hearing loss cause, influencing your treatment options.
If you decide to buy over-the-counter, note that some of the devices are customizable, and others have preset settings for switching between based on the listening environment.
6. Go For Hearing Aids With Risk-Free Trial Periods
Trying out hearing aids before purchasing lets you determine whether they suit your lifestyle.
When looking for listening devices, choose those with a risk-free trial time. If, after the trial period, you feel that the hearing devices aren’t meeting your needs, you can return them and then choose a different brand or style to try.
Based on the vendor’s policies, you can repeat the trial and error process until you find a suitable device.
7. Consider Maintenance Requirements
Different hearing aids have varying maintenance requirements. While your audiologist may recommend daily hearing aid cleaning, some devices may require more care.
So consider buying hearing aids that are easy to care for.
Endnote
The best device for your hearing loss should meet your needs and requirements. Use these tips to choose the right hearing aids for your lifestyle.
Remember, choosing the right hearing device is crucial in treating and managing hearing loss, so take the time to consider your options carefully.
In the end, finding the right hearing aids may take a little patience and trial and error, but the benefits of better hearing are definitely worth it.
So, go ahead, take the plunge, and hear the world in a whole new way!
