How to Pick the Best Hearing Aids

Choosing a hearing aid is an important decision that can have a huge difference in your day-to-day life. There is a wide range of hearing aid styles and types, all of which can offer varying features, advantages and disadvantages. To help you pick the best hearing aids, here are some tips for finding the right hearing aid for you.

See a hearing health professional

Finding the right hearing health professional is one of the first steps to getting the right hearing aids for your needs. A hearing care provider will perform a hearing test to evaluate your hearing loss and determine what type of hearing aid may help you. Hearing health professionals may also offer other services such as counseling and guidance on choosing the right hearing aid for your needs.

Do you research

As there are various hearing aid styles available, it is a good idea to do a little research to obtain a basic understanding of the types of hearing aids available and help you determine what is best suited to you. Here are some of the main types of hearing aids that may be available to you;

• Invisible-in-canal (IIC) aids, which sit deeply in the canal and cannot be seen.
• In-the-canal (ITC) aids do not sit as deeply as IIC aids but still remain very discreet.
• In-the-ear (ITE) aids sit in the bowl of the ear and are bigger and more noticeable than the above-mentioned aids
• Behind-the-ear (BTE) aids, which sit behind or on top of the ear.

All of these aids have various advantages and disadvantages, which are best discussed with your hearing health professional to enable you to choose a style that best suits your level of hearing loss and lifestyle.

Consider your lifestyle

While on the topic of lifestyle, it is an important consideration that should be a deciding factor when choosing the best hearing aids for you. Hearing aids not only come in numerous styles, they also have a wide range of features. These features can include directional microphones, volume control, noise reduction, battery life, and variable programming. The features that are important to you will depend on your lifestyle, so you will want to choose features that will complement and not impede the lifestyle you are already accustomed to. For example, those with ringing in their ears may alleviate their tinnitus through hearing aid masking features.

Consider a trial period

As deciding upon a hearing aid can be a big commitment and a step into the unknown, it might be prudent to ask for a trial period. Trial periods can be a great idea as often adjusting to life with a new hearing aid may take a little time. A trial period can give you an insight into what life will be like with your new hearing aid or its functions and can help you decide if it really is the right aid for you.

Give Hear More Medical Centers of America a call today, and we’ll be happy to walk you through the hearing aid selection & fitting process.

• Ocala: (352) 877-9243
• Summerfield: (352) 877-9243
• The Villages: (352) 877-9243