Besides how your hearing aid looks and how much it costs, there are many other features to consider when choosing a hearing aid. Do you struggle hearing at church? Do conversations in the board room frustrate you? Or do you simply want to be able to watch TV without having the volume up too loud? What do you want your hearing aid to do? There are many things today’s devices can do that you may not be aware of.
Here are three things to look for in a hearing device:
1. Optimization
While older technology in hearing aids just amplified sound, today’s digital models are much more sophisticated and can be programmed to adjust to your environment and tuned to your specific hearing loss. Your audiologist can pre-program your devices so that you don’t miss sounds at the frequencies at which you struggle. And while no device can completely eliminate background noise, your audiologist can do her best to adjust your settings so that it is minimized.
2. Directionality
Hearing aids are made of a speaker, a processor, and a microphone or several microphones to register and amplify sound at different frequencies. The more sophisticated microphones help differentiate the directionality of sound. This will particularly help you understand speech or other sounds in crowded environments or when multiple people are speaking at the same time. This directionality helps your brain to not have to work as hard to process what your ears hear and can reduce fatigue and frustration.
3. Connectivity
Today’s hearing aids are virtually tiny computers in your ears. They have the ability to be synced with your cell phone, your TV, your computer, and many other devices. You could stream music directly into your ears. With some technology, you may even be able to attend public events like concerts or sermons and have the audio fed directly to your devices without depending upon amplification. You also have the ability to make adjustments to your devices from your smartphone and change your settings depending upon your environment.
These are just a few things to look for in a hearing device that you may might not have been aware of. Your audiologist will ask you questions about your lifestyle, your budget and your hearing goals to make sure that you are getting the right device for you.
You should be able to receive the most benefits you can from your investment in your devices. Hearing aids will do more than just help you hear better. They will change your life.
