The numbers don’t lie: at some point in your life, you’re probably going to require a hearing aid. A quarter of all people between 60 and 75, according to an NIDCD study, have hearing loss and for individuals over 75 this figure increases to 50%. But how can you be certain which model is right for you when you realize it’s your best chance of combating loss of hearing? Hearing aids at one time had problems such as susceptibility to water damage and excessive background noise but modern day hearing aids have resolved these kinds of issues. But there’s still a good deal you need to know when choosing a hearing aid to ensure that it fits your lifestyle.
Directionality is a Crucial Feature
One essential attribute you should look for in a hearing aid is directionality, which is your hearing aid’s ability to focus on the particular noise near you (like a discussion) while keeping background noise to a minimum. One, if not both, of two directionality systems are working inside most hearing aids, they either focus on sound directly in front of you, or they focus on sound produced by different speakers and sometimes do both.
Can You Use it With Your Phone?
As a nation, we’re addicted to our phones. You more than likely have some type of cell phone, either a smartphone or a flip phone. And on the unlikely event that you don’t have any type of cell phone, you probably still have a land-line. So, when you’re testing different hearing aids, you should test how they connect to your phone. What is the sound like? Are you capable of discerning voices plainly? Is it Comfortable? Is it Bluetooth Ready? These are all of the things you should consider when selecting new hearing aids.
Are You Likely to Use it?
As mentioned above, hearing aid technology has progressed by leaps and bounds over the last few years. One of those advances has been the size and shape of hearing aids, which are a great deal smaller today. But there are certainly pros and cons. A smaller hearing aid might not be as powerful as a larger one, so it mostly depends on your hearing specialist’s suggestion and what you want to achieve with your hearing aid. You can get a hearing aid that fits right into your ear canal and is basically invisible, but it won’t have many of the functions available in larger hearing aids and will be prone to earwax clogs. On the other side of it, a behind the ear hearing aid is larger and may be more obvious, but often have more directionality functions and have more options for sound amplification.
Exposure to Particular Background Noises
One of the leading concerns since the advent of hearing aid technology has been wind noise and the havoc it causes to users. It would have driven anybody insane to go outside on a breezy day and hear nothing but the wind. If you’re an outdoors kind of person or you live in a windy area, you’ll want to control wind noises with your hearing aid decision so that conversations won’t have that annoying wind howl. Educate yourself about the many hearing aid choices available to you. Call us.
