Hearing Aid
Hearing Aid
If you’ve recently been prescribed a hearing aid, choosing one that will work best for you may seem like a daunting task. You need to balance your aesthetic, lifestyle, and budget with the type and model that will work best for your degree of hearing loss. At FYZICAL West Princeton, our certified audiologists work with you to make this a more manageable and enjoyable task.
Determining the Style
This is the most important step in selecting a hearing aid. You have to consider the degree of your hearing loss for this step. There are six standard degrees of hearing loss -slight, mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe, and profound.
If you have slight, mild, or moderate hearing loss, you will benefit from all major styles of hearing aids. If you have moderately severe or severe hearing loss, you will need a larger hearing aid, such as a behind-the-ear model. If you have profound hearing loss, you will not benefit from a hearing aid but may benefit from a bone-anchored hearing device or cochlear implant.
If you have slight, mild, or moderate hearing loss, you will benefit from all major styles of hearing aids. If you have moderately severe or severe hearing loss, you will need a larger hearing aid, such as a behind-the-ear model. If you have profound hearing loss, you will not benefit from a hearing aid but may benefit from a bone-anchored hearing device or cochlear implant.
Determining Your Hearing Lifestyle
The next step is determining your hearing lifestyle. There are four distinct hearing lifestyles -private, quiet, active, and dynamic.
If you have a private hearing lifestyle, with only minimal background noise, your hearing aid only needs to have the lowest level of technology.
If you have a quiet healing lifestyle that is usually quiet, with occasional background noise, you will only need slightly more technology in your hearing aid than individuals who have a private hearing lifestyle.
If you have an active hearing lifestyle, with a moderate amount of background noise, you are often in difficult listening environments and need more technology in your hearing aid than individuals with private or quiet hearing lifestyles.
If you have a dynamic hearing lifestyle, with constant changes in your listening environment ranging from significant background noise to quiet environments, you will need the most advanced technology in your hearing aid to be able to hear properly.
If you have a private hearing lifestyle, with only minimal background noise, your hearing aid only needs to have the lowest level of technology.
If you have a quiet healing lifestyle that is usually quiet, with occasional background noise, you will only need slightly more technology in your hearing aid than individuals who have a private hearing lifestyle.
If you have an active hearing lifestyle, with a moderate amount of background noise, you are often in difficult listening environments and need more technology in your hearing aid than individuals with private or quiet hearing lifestyles.
If you have a dynamic hearing lifestyle, with constant changes in your listening environment ranging from significant background noise to quiet environments, you will need the most advanced technology in your hearing aid to be able to hear properly.
Determining Your Personal Aesthetic
Hearing aid styles range from ones that are almost invisible to those that sit noticeably behind your ear. The hearing aid styles that sit in your ear may be less noticeable, but they also contain less technology and, therefore, have fewer features and shorter battery life compared to larger, more advanced hearing aids that sit behind your ear.
Benefits of Hearing Aids
Hearing aids amplify sound and improve your ability to hear in different situations. Choosing an appropriate hearing aid helps to improve your social interactions, mental health, and your quality of life.
Thecertified audiologists at FYZICAL West Princeton can help you determine what hearing aid is best, taking your personal preferences and degree of hearing loss into consideration to give you optimal hearing.
Thecertified audiologists at FYZICAL West Princeton can help you determine what hearing aid is best, taking your personal preferences and degree of hearing loss into consideration to give you optimal hearing.
Determining Your Budget
Hearing aids are expensive, and the more technology and features they have, the more expensive they will be.