 | Ed Clausen M.A
M.A. Audiologist, CCC-A is a licensed Audiologist under the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. He received his CCC-A in 1994 and serves as Company Audiologist for the 18 company offices of Midwest Hearing Aids, Inc. in Kansas. He holds memberships in the American Speech/Language and Hearing Association, the Kansas Speech/Language and Hearing Association, and the Kansas Hearing Aid Association. You may contact Ed at Midwest Hearing Aids corporate office in Wichita at 1 (800) 668-4055 or locally at (316) 264-2411. |
Audiology
2003-01-01 11:40:00
How does one choose the right hearing aid?
ANSWER: There are many options available in hearing aids. Choices such as size, level of technology, features, and cost can quickly overwhelm even the savviest consumer. Here are some things to consider before you make your final decision.First, and most importantly, find a hearing healthcare professional that you trust and can work comfortably with. This individual will be the one to educate you about your choices, and it is important that you can trust their recommendations and feel comfortable discussing your concerns. If you find yourself questioning their capabilities or motives, or you don't feel comfortable asking them questions or voicing your concerns, then working closely with them to improve your quality of life through better hearing will be very difficult. When presented with options such as size and additional features, be honest with yourself about your lifestyle, needs, and cosmetic concerns. Listen to what your professional recommends based on your type of hearing loss. If you are a very active person who is in many listening situations during the day, then you may benefit from instruments that have more sophisticated sound processing or different "memories" for different situations. However, if your lifestyle is more quiet, then you may not need those advanced features. Also consider your overall buying philosophy: do you always like to have "the best"; or do you consider all the options? Cosmetic concerns are very important as well. What degree of visibility will you be comfortable with? The larger instruments generally can be made more powerful, and can incorporate some additional features that may be beneficial to you; but be sure to balance that with what your visibility comfort level is. All the available bells and whistles will not benefit you at all if you're so uncomfortable with the size of the instrument that it ends up in a drawer. However, you may feel comfortable with the size if you know what benefits a larger instrument is providing over a smaller instrument. Finally, while you should be prepared to spend some money on hearing instruments, don't spend so much that you feel you would never get your money's worth from them. Hearing instruments have been proven both in the literature and by millions of real people to improve quality of life. Don't allow yourself to be pushed into spending so much money that you cannot focus on the many benefits of amplification.
