The numbers don’t lie: you may require hearing aids eventually. A study from NIDCD states that around a quarter of all individuals from 60 to 75 have some form of loss of hearing, and that number goes up to 50% for people 75 and older. The best method to deal with age-related hearing loss is to use a hearing aid, but how do you know which style is the right one for you? Developments in technology over the years have resolved some of the issues traditionally associated with hearing aids, like too much background noise and vulnerability to water damage. But there’s still a lot you need to know when picking out a hearing aid to be sure it fits your lifestyle.
Pay Attention to Directionality
One important feature you should pay attention to in a hearing aid is directionality, which is the ability for your hearing aid to focus on the particular noise near you (like a conversation) while reducing background noise to a minimum. Most hearing aids have different directionality systems, which either focus in on the noise right in front of you, the sound that’s coming from different speakers, or a combination of those two.
Will Your Hearing Aid Connect With Your Phone?
It’s become apparent, we’re addicted to our cellphone as a country. You most likely have some kind of cell phone, either a smartphone or a flip phone. And on the off-chance that you don’t have any kind of cell phone, you most likely still have a land-line. So, the way your hearing aid works with your phone is an important concern when you’re looking at hearing aids. How does it sound? Are you capable of discerning voices clearly? Does it feel easy to wear? Is it Bluetooth Ready? These are all the things you should take into consideration when looking at new hearing aids.
Are You Inclined to Wear it?
In the last few years, as noted above, the technology 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. However, there will always be some trade-offs. A more compact hearing aid may not be as powerful as a larger one, so it really depends on your hearing professional’s suggestion 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 basically invisible, but it won’t have many of the features 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 larger and may be more obvious, but often come with more directionality features and have more options for sound amplification.
What Kind of Background Sound Will You be Exposed to?
One of the largest issues since the advent of hearing aid technology has been wind noise and the chaos it causes to users. It would have driven anybody insane to go out on a windy day and hear nothing but the wind. If you’re an outdoors kind of person or you live in a windy area, you’ll need to find a hearing aid that suppresses wind noise so you can carry on conversations at an average volume and avoid the headaches that are related to hearing aid wind noises. Looking for more information about how to pick the right hearing aid? Get in touch with us.