Hearing Aids

There are many decisions that must be made when purchasing a hearing aid. Making these decisions is something that certainly should not be taken lightly due to the improvements in the quality of life that can be made by having the right hearing aid.

One thing that must be considered when choosing a hearing aid is the type of electronics that are used. Hearing aid electronics refer to the way in which sound is transferred from your environment to the inner ear. All hearing aids work by amplifying sounds so that they are louder, making it easier for you to hear those sounds. Most hearing aids today are digital hearing aids as analog hearing aides have gradually been phased out.

Through digital technology, a computer chip is used to convert incoming sounds into a digital code. It then analyzes and adjusts sound based on your specific hearing loss as well as your individual hearing needs and the level of sounds in your environment. Those signals are then converted back to sound waves which are delivered directly to your ears. As a result, you are able to benefit from a sound that is far more finely tuned to your individual hearing loss. You can find digital hearing devices in many different price ranges as well as styles.

There are also many different options that can improve the quality of your hearing in a variety of situations. One of those options is the directional microphone. This type of microphone is able to retrieve sounds that come from in front of you much better than if they are coming from beside you or from behind you. This makes it much easier for you to hear if you are in an environment where there is quite a bit of background noise, such as at a restaurant or a party. In most cases you will have a regular microphone as well as a directional microphone, making it possible for you to change between the two different types of microphones. There are also some hearing aids that are capable of switching back and forth between the directional and regular modes.

Another option is the telephone adapter. This form of technology is also known as telecoil T switches, which makes it easier for you to hear when you are speaking on the telephone because it eliminates sounds from within the environment around you and only picks up sounds from the phone. There are some types of hearing aids that automatically switch when the telephone is near the hearing aid. Other hearing aids require the user to flip a switch.

You can also take advantage of Bluetooth technology with many of the newer hearing aids which allow you to make transmissions of sound from devices equipped with Bluetooth, including cell phones. With this ability you do not have to hold the telephone to your ear or your hearing aid in order to be able to hear the sounds effectively; something which can be quite advantageous if you use Bluetooth on a frequent basis.

Miracle Ear offers affordable prices on their hearing aid devices. MiracleEar prices on their hearing aid devices. Miracle Ear offers affordable hearing aid options.

Is it true that a hearing aid should be preferably worn on the better ear?

I have moderate to severe hearing loss in my right ear. My hearing loss in my left ear is not much, though I have difficulty in hearing high frequency sounds through my left ear. I wanted to go for a hearing aid for my right ear. The people in the hearing aid center want me to go for the left ear first and then only for the right ear. I do not want to wear this instrument in both my ears. What should I do?

Answer
Firstly, I think you should see an audiologist, a lot of ear centers that just dispense hearing aids aren’t really qualified to determine what ear, etc. An audiologist will give you better service and be able to help you make the decision, they’re also a lot better about customer service. Hearing aids are generally worn in the worse ear unless the ear is unaidable for some reason. I don’t know your history, but if you have substantially more loss in one ear than the other your center should have referred you to a neurologist, as that can be a sign of an 8th nerve tumor. Hopefully, your uneven loss is explainable (you shoot guns a lot on that side, etc). If it is, I would aid the worse ear, especially since not aiding it can cause your hearing to worsen, but that also goes for your other ear, so you really should consider two hearing aids. The behind the ear models are really tiny and totally unnoticeable now and you won’t have to deal with an earmold which can cause wax build-up and ear infections, check out Oticon Deltas. Moderate to severe is a huge range and some severe to profound losses are difficult to aid, your center may also be worried you won’t be happy with the results from aiding your poorer ear, again, an audiologist would explain this to you. Ideally, you should get two aids to preserve the hearing you have in both ears, if not, I guess you’ll have to choose which is worse, slowly becoming completely deaf in your poor ear, or gradually losing more hearing in your better ear until you have to aid that, too. Good luck and feel free to contact me with specific questions!