The numbers don’t lie: you will probably require hearing aids someday. A study from NIDCD estimates that around a quarter of all individuals between the ages of 60 and 75 have some form of hearing loss, and that number goes up to 50% for people 75 and older. The best means to fight age-related loss of hearing is to use a hearing aid, but how can you be sure which model is best for you? Hearing aids used to have issues such as susceptibility to water damage and excessive background noise but modern hearing aids have resolved these kinds of issues. But to make certain your choice of hearing aid is right for you, there are still things you need to think about.
Directionality is a Key Feature
Directionality is one crucial function you should look for, which has the ability to keep background noise down while focusing in on sound you want to hear such as conversations. One, if not both, of two directionality systems are operating inside most hearing aids, they either focus in 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 country, we’re addicted to our phones. Even if you don’t have a smartphone, it’s likely you have an old-style cell phone. And on the off-chance that you don’t own any type of cell phone, you probably still have a land-line. So, when you’re trying out different hearing aids, you should test how they connect to your phone. How does it sound? Do voices sound clear? Does it feel easy to wear? Are there any Bluetooth connection options available? When shopping for new hearing aids, you need to take into consideration all of these.
Are You Likely to Wear it?
In the last few years, as mentioned above, the technology of hearing aids has significantly improved. One of those advances has been the size and shape of hearing aids, which have moved towards the smaller and more comfortable path. But there are certainly pros and cons. A more compact hearing aid may not be as powerful as a larger one, so it really depends on your hearing professional’s recommendation and what you need to achieve with your hearing aid. You can get a hearing aid that fits directly into your ear canal and is all but invisible, but it won’t have many of the functions available in larger hearing aids and can sometimes be prone to earwax clogs. On the other side of it, a behind the ear hearing aid is bigger and might be more noticeable, but often come with more directionality features and provide more choices for sound amplification.
Exposure to Specific Background Sounds
Wind interference has been an overwhelming problem for hearing aid users since they were invented. Being outside on a windy day with a traditional hearing aid used to mean that you couldn’t hear anything except the wind, which is could drive anyone insane. If you’re an outdoors kind of person or you live in a windy area, you’ll want to suppress wind noises with your hearing aid decision so that conversations won’t have that annoying wind howl. Inform yourself about the many different hearing aid options available to you. Give us a call.