Getting a hearing aid is something that many will do in their lifetime, whether it’s due to age-related hearing loss or repeated exposure to noisy environments. There may be many reasons why, due to our ears being very vulnerable and it’s often too late when it comes to realizing just how vulnerable they can be. Here are five tips for getting a hearing aid.
Get A Medical Check From An Audiologist
Firstly, when you’ve realized that you may need help with your hearing, it’s important to book yourself in with an audiologist. An audiologist is capable of doing an assessment on your hearing and then making suggestions depending on how severe the damage is. You may only know that you’ve got hearing damage when others around you are perhaps questioning why you’re struggling to hear or perhaps asking for things to be repeated when others manage to hear it clearly.
Booking yourself in with a hearing health professional is important and it can be the first stage in getting help for your hearing. If you’re nervous about getting a health check, then it’s always worth taking someone with you. At the very least, a person should get their ears checked once a year, regardless of whether they feel their hearing is bad or not.
Discuss The Options
It’s good to discuss your options when it comes to getting a hearing aid. There are going to be a lot of choices out there thanks to the improvements that have been made in engineering but also technology. There are hearing aids that come with bluetooth capabilities and WIFI that can mean you are able to control them from an app on your phone. You also have different shapes and sizes with some so small that they’re hardly visible to the eye.
It’s up to you which one you want but your audiologist will be able to discuss the options you have and will likely make recommendations on which ones will be the best for your needs and requirements. It’s important not to rush because you certainly want to make the right choice for you and your hearing.
Consider Your Budget
Budget is an important thing to cover because everyone is different. The cost of hearing aids can vary and not everyone will be able to get financial support for one. It’s good to consider how much you have to spend and then to compare that with what hearing aids are available and how much they cost. It’s something that you’ll want to think about when it comes to getting ones custom-made too as this may also cost extra.
Think about what hearing aids you’re after and the features. The more features and high-tech it is, the more expensive it will be. It’s also good to get tips on how to look after your hearing aids so that you’re not spending more money than usual on repairing them. You can learn more about this from your audiologist and by doing your research online too.
Get It Fitted
After you’ve picked your hearing aid option, you’ll then have to get your hearing aid fitted. This will usually result in another appointment as they’ll need to order the hearing aid and this might vary in timings, especially if it’s been custom-made to suit your ears specifically. When you get them fitted, make sure you’re paying particular attention to how it feels and how it sits in your ear. This is the time to make any adjustments to the fit and feel, as well as the sound levels and any other features that are part of the hearing aid.
Trial & Feedback
Once you’ve got your hearing aids fitted, it’ll be important to trial them out and to give feedback to your audiologist if needed. It might be that you’ve got it perfect and that there’s no need to do any adjustments. However, there may be a point where you need to trial out the hearing aids and make some minor tweaks. This could be to do with the features of the hearing aid or how it’s sitting in your ears. Make sure that you’re flagging anything that doesn’t sound or feel right because your audiologist will be able to do something about it if that’s the case.
Getting a hearing aid is a big step that many are nervous to take. However, by getting a hearing aid, you’re definitely going to help improve your hearing and your ear health as a result. Use these tips to make sure you’re getting the right hearing aid devices for you.