What do you want from a hearing aid?
OK, so people buy hearing aids to improve their hearing. That much is obvious. But what do you really want from your hearing aid?
It’s worth thinking this over before you go out to buy a hearingaid. You want to make sure you get the right aid for you. When you visit an audiologist, go armed with a checklist of the things you want and also the things you don’t want. Some things to think about:
- When is it important that you hear everything? There may be certain situations in your daily routine when hearing everything (or as much as possible) is crucial. When I recently got fitted with a pair of Starkey Destinys I made sure the audiologist was aware that I needed to hear conversation in big meeting rooms – conversation that could be coming from many different people. Of course, you want to hear as much as possible all the time, but I think it’s worth making a point about specific times when your hearingaid really needs to go to work.
- Do you listen to music? Many digital aids have a problem with music, they process it as background noise and try to filter it out – making it sound horrible. If you are a music lover, make sure you get an aid with a specific program for music.
- Do you want a volume control? I’ve been wearing analogue aids for years and have been used to having a volume control. Many digital aids don’t have one as they are smart enough to set it themselves. Don’t assume the aid you are going to buy has a volume control.
- What don’t you want to hear? Or, are you often in extremely noisy situations that you new aid will need to deal with?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Even stuff that seems silly, it’s worth asking before you buy a hearingaid that doesn’t quite match your expectations.
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I want to be able to adust the digital hearing aids at home using my computer rather than at audiologist’s office.
In reply to Ted, for most people (without the relevant training) the software is quite complicated. It isn’t just a simple straightforward turn up a bit here and turn down a bit there, there are many factors to take into consideration. Perhaps what would be better in your situation would be a hearing aid that you can adjust via a discrete remote control whilst you are wearing the aids; coupled with an aid that has artificial intelligence, which will remember each change in setting for different environments. An aid like Phonaks SaviaArt for example which automatically switches between different programs depending on which environment you are in and remembers your adjustments for each environment. Brilliant! I have to say it is my favourite aid at the moment. Pete