Just about 28.8 million adults in the United States could benefit from wearing hearing aids, according to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). If you are among the 38.2 million Americans with hearing loss, it is likely that your lifestyle would improve with the use of hearing aids. However, whenever someone suggests that you need hearing aids, you probably imagine those bulky, clunky whistling contraptions your grandparents wore.
Hearing aids provide greater independence along with a richer, more rewarding quality of life. Our team wants to encourage everyone in the Permian Basin to reexamine their preconceived notions about hearing aids, so we’re providing everything you need to know about hearing aids.
Features and Benefits of Today’s Hearing Aids
Thanks to advancements in micro-digital and material technology, today’s hearing aids are nothing like they were a couple of decades past. In fact, hearing technology along with the features and benefits available with modern hearing aids have changed rapidly in the past 10 years and continue to advance each year, making them lighter weight, more comfortable, and more discrete with better performance and improved convenience.
Light, Comfortable and Discrete
While micro-technology is making it possible to house hearing aid technology in smaller packages, material technology allows manufacturers to use lighter weight materials with greater flexibility and improved wearing comfort. A variety of styles from behind the ear (BTE) to invisible in the canal (IIC) and sizes in between are available (depending on your level of hearing loss), and one company has even rolled out an extended wear option.
Better Performance
Modern hearing aids also include some significant performance advantages in both amplification and sound clarity. Greater clarity comes from noise cancellation technology, which controls background noises in a wide range of environments using directional microphones.
Open fit acoustics have eliminated the outdated sensation of “talking in a barrel” and that whistling sound, known as feedback, is all but eliminated in modern hearing aids.
Improved Convenience
Today’s hearing aids are much more user-friendly, beginning with better batteries so you change them less often, and recharging is becoming a common feature on many models. Programming, adjustments, and fine-tuning have reduced the necessity for almost constant office visits.
Connectivity options allow you to take advantage of a wide range of smartphone apps designed to improve your hearing experience, while also allowing sound from your television, telephone, and stereo to stream directly into your hearing aids. In addition to improved hearing clarity, today’s hearing aids also come with tinnitus masking and canceling capabilities.
Who Benefits from the Use of Hearing Aids?
Those experiencing mild to severe sensorineural hearing loss, which is a permanent condition, greatly improve their quality of life through the use of hearing aids. These improvements typically include better hearing, a lower risk of developing other mental and physical health conditions, and the prevention of progressive damage to your hearing. In addition, hearing aids serve the dual purpose of correcting hearing loss while managing tinnitus.
Why You Should Avoid Buying Hearing Aids Online or OTC
There are a plethora of online and OTC hearing aids available, and they are offered at prices designed to tempt buyers. However, without a proper hearing assessment and fitting with the right instrument by a doctor of audiology, you run the risk of doing more damage to your hearing.
In addition, hearing loss is often associated with other health problems that will go undiagnosed without a comprehensive hearing exam performed by an audiologist.
All About Hearing Is Your Best Hearing Care Option
Though hearing aids are only one of the available hearing care options available, All About Hearing has access to a wide range of hearing aid manufacturers and styles with the benefits of the latest technology built-in.
My team and I conduct thorough hearing evaluations in order to provide our Permian Basin patients with the best possible hearing care available. If you would like more information on the hearing devices we offer or would like to schedule a comprehensive hearing assessment, contact us today.
