When buying a hearing aid, there are many things to consider. The first thing you need to know is the degree of hearing impairment you have. Once you have that figured out, you’ll know what kinds of hearing aids to look at.
You can pay anywhere from two or three hundred dollars to several thousand. Your needs and your budget will be major determining factors in the model you buy.
According to data from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 28 million people in the US have some loss of hearing. Degree of hearing refers to the amount of loss. A person with normal hearing can decipher sounds throughout the full hearing spectrum, but people who have hearing loss can only hear some sounds or no sound at all.
Decibels are used to measure a person’s hearing. Hearing loss in just a single ear is called unilateral loss - bilateral refers to loss of hearing in both ears. Here are the guidelines used to specify your scope of hearing loss:
15 decibels to 40 decibels is mild hearing loss, 40 to 60 is moderate, 60 to 90 is known as severe, and greater than 90 decibels is considered to be profound.
Behind-the-Ear (aka BTE) hearing aids offer the widest range of hearing improvement. Most people never know that someone is wearing BTE’s. For an even greater range of hearing, earmolds can be combined with a BTE, but the downside is that this is the most noticeable configuration.
Unlike smaller models, ITE, or In-the-Ear hearing aids have room for a lot features without an uncomfortable feeling in the ear. ITE’s require regular removal of wax and are fairly visible.
In-the-Canal (ITC) hearing aids fit deeper inside the ear canal and are less visible than In-the-Ear types. They have shorter battery lives and need regular cleaning.
CIC or Completely-in-the-Canal are the tiniest models you can buy. They are just about invisible. Those with arthritis may have difficulty holding them due to the extremely small size.
Hearing Aids are available in both digital and analog. Digital are more pricey, but offer additional features such as noise reduction and bluetooth compatibility.
PLD (Personal Listening Devices) are an excellent choice for budget concious shoppers. They are readily available online for two hundred dollars and up.
Once you have decided your hearing needs, the options you are looking for, and what you are willing to pay, there are many brands including ReSound, Siemens, iHear, and each brand has numerous models you can choose from.
I trust this article will provide you a little insight into beginning your quest for enhanced hearing.