Why It May Be Unwise to Listen to Friends When Choosing Hearing Aids
Posted on: 12 May 2016
Many people who have suffered from some form of hearing loss consult friends in order to know which kind of hearing aids they should get. However, this approach may be counterproductive because it may not address your specific needs. This article discusses some of the specific issues that should be considered when selecting hearing aids.
Lifestyle Differences
Before hearing aids are prescribed, professionals assess your lifestyle so that they can identify the environments in which you experience hearing challenges, such as when watching TV or when you are chatting with friends. That analysis helps the professional to give you the best hearing aids that are suitable for your hearing challenges. Consequently, you may end up with hearing aids that are different from what a friend had recommended.
Sound Quality
Audiology experts do their best to ensure that the hearing aids that you receive produce high quality sounds that are optimised (on matters such as volume and sound clarity) based on the size of your ear canal and the type of hearing aids that you have selected. This means that two individuals with the same kind of hearing loss may end up with different hearing aids because it may be hard for the same kind of hearing aid to deliver optimal performance for people with differing sizes of ear canals.
Physical Fit
A hearing aid that is not fitting properly may fall out of your ear. It can also whistle, or it may hurt you each time that you wear it. It is, therefore, very important for you to get hearing aids that fit well. The technician will ask you to try on several hearing aids before you select the ones that you feel are comfortable to wear. Thus, you are likely to end up with different hearing aids from what your friend has because a different set offered you the greatest degree of comfort.
As you can see, many factors must be considered before a set of hearing aids is selected. The primary concern is to find out which set is best suited to the specific hearing problem that you have. Once that is settled, the professional ensures that you will be comfortable as you use those hearing aids. This is because comfort is important if you are to be motivated to use those hearing aids consistently. It is therefore very important for you to choose a hearing aid professional carefully so that you receive a set of hearing aids that is the most appropriate for your needs.
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