The numbers don’t lie: at some point in your life, you’re more than likely going to require a hearing aid. A report from NIDCD states that about a quarter of all people from 60 to 75 have some form of hearing loss, and that figure jumps up to 50% for people 75 and older. But how can you be certain which hearing aid is right for you when you realize it’s your best opportunity to combat loss of hearing? Hearing aids used to have issues including vulnerability to water damage and excessive background noise but modern day hearing aids have resolved these sorts of issues. But to make certain your choice of hearing aid is correct for you, there are still things you need to consider.
Directionality is a Key Feature
Directionality is one important feature you should look for, which is the ability for your hearing aid to focus on the particular noise near you (like a discussion) while keeping background sound to a minimum. Most hearing aids have different directionality systems, which either focus on the sound right in front of you, the speech that’s coming from different speakers, or a combination of both.
Will Your Hearing Aid Connect With Your Phone?
It’s become obvious, we’re addicted to our cellphone as a country. You more than likely have some kind of cell phone, either a smartphone or an older style cell phone. And for the few who don’t actually own a cell phone, you most likely still have a land-line. So, when you’re testing different hearing aids, you should test how they connect to your phone. How does it sound? Are you able to discern voices clearly? Is it Comfortable? Are there any Bluetooth connection features available? When shopping for new hearing aids, you need to consider all of these.
What is The Probability You Would Actually Wear it?
In the last few years, as mentioned above, the development of hearing aids has vastly improved. One of those advances has been the size and shape of hearing aids, which are a lot smaller today. But there are definitely pros and cons. A more compact hearing aid might not be as powerful as a bigger one, so it really depends on your hearing specialist’s suggestion and what you need to accomplish with your hearing aid. The little ones won’t have the features of the larger models and they may get clogged with earwax but they do fit inside your ears nearly imperceptibility. On the other end of the spectrum, a behind the ear hearing aid is bigger and may be more noticeable, but often come with more directionality functions and provide more options for sound amplification.
What Type of Background Noise Will You be Exposed to?
Wind interference has been an overwhelming difficulty for hearing aid users ever since they were invented. It could have driven anyone crazy to go out on a breezy day and hear nothing except the wind. you live in a windy area or if you’re an outdoor person so you’ll need to get a hearing aid that suppresses wind noise so you can have conversations at a normal volume and avoid the headaches that are associated with hearing aid wind noises. Looking for more information about how to select the right hearing aid? Get in touch with us.