 A neatly-dressed business man sits across the table from me. He is fifty-seven years old and has been battling this problem for the past four years. For a while, he denied it. Then he admitted it, but didn’t do anything about it. His hearing loss reached the point where he was missing important items with clients and in meetings (not to mention with his wife and family) so, he bought some hearing aids.
It was awkward getting used to hearing all of those sounds, having his ears plugged up, his own voice, he went on and on. Before long, he was wearing his hearing aids in his dresser drawer instead of on his ears. Now, two years removed from that bad experience, he is in my office asking, “Are hearing aids today any better than they were two years ago? I have got to have some help.”
You can open up the newspaper on any given day and find an ad with big bold letters, “Why pay more, Hearing Aids- $295.” At the same time, you have a friend who just paid $6000 for a pair of hearing aids. What’s the difference? How do you decide? How do you keep from having to tell the story the businessman was telling me?
Buying hearing aids can be a daunting task for even the most informed consumer, and one that could cost a significant amount of money. In the next few paragraphs, I will try to simplify the process, so that you can make an informed decision if you decide it’s time to buy hearing aids.
1. What do I need?
I think everyone would like to have the smallest, most comfortable, most automatic hearing aid they could get. However, not all hearing aids are appropriate for all individuals with hearing loss. The first step in the process is to have a complete hearing evaluation to determine if you need hearing aids, and the extent of your hearing loss (if there is any). On those visits, I usually spend as much time as necessary to explain the hearing loss, the potential causes, the effects on speech understanding, and what can be done about it. There are some individuals with hearing loss, for whom hearing aids are not appropriate. But for the vast majority of cases, hearing aids can be significantly helpful.  There are literally thousands of hearing aids on the market in the United States. Sorting through all of the manufacturers, styles, and features could take months. The discussion needs to be simplified to size and technology. As you probably already know there are lots of different sizes of hearing aids out there. Here are the basic facts with regard to hearing aid size:
1. Size and price tend to be inversely-proportional (smaller = more $)
2. Larger hearing aids are capable of more power and thus better for more severe losses
3. In general, the further in your ear the hearing aid fits, the more likely it will be to need repairs. Smaller hearing aids are more susceptible to build of wax and moisture.
4. Smaller hearing aids are more cosmetically appealing
5. Larger hearing aids are easier to manipulate if an individual experiences dexterity problems.
Technology- this could take a while. Today, almost all hearing aids are digital, but they vary in the sophistication of the processing, as well as the features. Here are the basic facts on technology:
1. A basic hearing aid with no advanced technology should improve your hearing.
2. More advanced technology allows better fine tuning by the audiologist to meet the needs of your specific listening situations.
3. Many advanced hearing aids offer multiple programs or settings for different environments. (For example, these hearing aids can be programmed with one setting for maximal understanding, one setting for comfort in background noise and another setting for use on the telephone.)
4. The most advanced (or premium) hearing aids are the most automatic and require little or no manipulation by the user. The hearing aids can adjust automatically for the level of sounds, the presence of background noise, even the direction the background noise is coming from.
5. Last, but not least, the higher the technology, the higher the price. 
2. How will I know if it works?
Unfortunately, you can’t take a hearing aid for a test drive, but you can do the next best thing. It is called a trial period. That is, if the hearing aid doesn’t work for you, it can be returned during the trial period. Although this is usually not the case because an appropriately recommended and fit hearing aid should give you significant benefit, it is nice to know that you are not stuck with it if it doesn’t help you. It is not unlikely that there will need to be some adjustments made during the trial period. You should plan on coming in for a follow-up visit or two to let the audiologist know how things are working and what needs to be adjusted.
You should see an improvement in your ability to understand what other people are saying, after all, that is usually the goal of buying hearing aids. Unfortunately, with improved speech understanding, your comfort for different sounds around you may be changed. Your brain is used to hearing things the way they sounded prior to being fit with hearing aids. When we change the sound so that you are hearing more of the sounds that a normally-hearing individual experiences, it takes sometime to adjust to the new levels and different pitches that you are hearing, plan on addressing these types of issues at your follow-up visits.
3. Where do I go?
My first answer of course, would be, “Come see us.” We offer a no obligation hearing aid trial period with a 100% refund if you are not satisfied with the hearing aids. We have fit thousands of hearing aids of all sizes and styles. Our goal is make you hear better, and unless we improve your hearing, we don’t expect you to pay for the hearing aids.
However, regardless of who you see, you really need to be comfortable with your level of knowledge and have confidence in the professional with whom you are dealing in this process. The level of expertise and experience of the Audiologist is of paramount importance to your success with hearing aids. The greatest hearing aids in the world will only be as good as the person who is programming them.
4. What else do I need to know?
Some final pearls of wisdom:
- Remember this is a process that may take a few weeks to a month, getting hearing aids is not an instant fix for all of your problems.
- Hearing aids help almost all individuals with hearing loss, but they are not a miracle and will not restore your hearing to that of a seventeen year old.
- It is often helpful to bring a spouse, close friend, or parent along to your visits. They may hear information you miss. It is also very helpful for your friends and family to fully understand the problems instead of just accusing you of “selective hearing” or “not listening.”
- The ultimate goal in any hearing aid fitting is to help you hear better and improve your quality of life. Both you and the audiologist should approach hearing aids with that positive attitude.
If I can answer any other questions about choosing hearing aids or you want to discuss more options, feel free to send me an email at
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or give us a call. I hope this helps take some of the mystery and intimidation out of the hearing aid selection process.
by: David Gnewikow, Ph.D.
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