Choosing a hearing aid today can be a complicated process if you are not aware of the market. Over the last few years the hearing aid business has undergone a huge boom due to the fact that manufacturers realized that there was a market that could generate billions of dollars. If you are not sure on your first step then this review will point you in the right direction.
Hearing Loss
Hearing loss and its causes can be discussed all day but suffice to say that any form of loss of hearing can be mild to severe. This loss can be a birth defect, resulting from a serious ear infection, side effects of certain drugs, natural deterioration due to age, being exposed to loud noises over a period of time, for example, military personnel tend to have hearing problems when they get older. Likewise, when young and you are a disco freak, or play extremely loud music in your car then you may have issues with your hearing when you pass 40 years of age. Whatever the reason for your hearing loss then investing in a good hearing aid will help your daily life enormously.
Types of Hearing Aids
What you pay for is what you get. You can purchase a cheap hearing aid but the production will be poor on what you hear. These types of hearing aids are old technology and are based on analog reception, hence the cheaper price. The most common on the market these days are digital ones. They can provide many additional functions over and above the analog ones, namely, more functions in adjustable volume, it can cater for using the telephone and when in a building it will pick up the ring circuit for those people who have hearing difficulties. The main advantage of this type of hearing aid is that it can be plugged into a computer where specially designed software can match your hearing problems by programming the hearing aid.
Cosmetic Styles of Hear Aids
Once, you have seen your audiologist to complete your hearing test then comes the hard part in selecting the best type of aid for you. He/she will advise you but in the end you will decide the best one for you. Let’s look at what are the most common ones on the market. A Completely in the Canal (CIC) type is created form a mould that your audiologist will provide. This mould will fit tightly inside the ear and is difficult for anyone to notice that you have one. They are very much customized to you and can cost a lot of money. Another type is on that fits near the entrance to the ear canal, again from a customized mould and because it is bigger more functionality can be provided. It is, however, visible to others. Behind the ear (BTE) ones are most common as they are cost effective and provide a wide range of functions. Again it is a mould inside the ear that is connected by a small transparent tube to the receiving unit behind the ear. This unit can vary in size from something that is very visible to a unit they cannot be seen unless standing directly next to the person.
Your thoughts on this
Loading...