There are many factors that will affect the most appropriate hearing aid selection for you or your family member. These are things that Dr. Long will take into consideration when helping you find the best fit for your situation.
1. Type and degree of hearing loss. Your hearing care professional will examine you to determine the exact degree and type of your hearing loss. If you have a severe hearing loss, a Behind-the-Ear (BTE) instrument might be the most appropriate choice, as it can provide more powerful amplification.
2. Ear anatomy. The space inside our ears varies from person to person. Most ears are big enough for an In-the-Ear hearing aid but they may not always be large enough to accommodate the smaller types that fit deep into the ear canal. The new Micro-BTE style aids offer cosmetic solutions for most people.
3. One or two instruments? If you have a hearing loss in both ears, you should wear two instruments. Not because they make things twice as loud, but because – by mimicking the natural hearing process – they give you a better sense of where the sound is coming from. They also help to avoid a condition known as “auditory deprivation”, where the ear becomes lazy due to lack of stimulation.
Five Personal Factors
There are number of personal factors to consider when selecting a hearing aid:
1. Communication needs. Take some time to consider the situations where you would like to improve your hearing. What do you want to achieve at work and at home? Telling your audiologist about your needs will help them find an appropriate solution. For example you may need solutions for the cell phone, TV, MP3 player, worship services or the Appleton Performing Arts Center.
2. Handling hearing aids. The smaller the instrument, the smaller the controls and batteries. So if your eyes aren’t as good as they used to be, or your fingers cannot cope with small batteries and controls, a larger instrument would be the best solution.
3. Cosmetic appearance. Hearing aids come in a wide variety of sizes. The most discreet solutions are In-the-Canal (ITC), compact Behind-the-Ear (BTE) or Receiver-In-The-Ear (RITE) instruments in a hair or skin-tone. Bright colors are also available if you prefer.
4. Price. Hearing aids come in various price categories, and medical insurance plans differ greatly. Some insurance plans cover part of the diagnostic testing, but currently only few plans cover the full cost of the instruments. So do remember to discuss these issues with your insurance company for more specific information.
5. Sound quality. Technology is everywhere today, helping to solve people’s problems. It certainly has improved the size and performance of hearing aids. Almost all instruments today are digital, running on powerful computer microchips to provide the best possible sound quality.