Acquiring your first set of hearing aids or searching for a new pair can be a daunting task. Although these little devices and their high-end technologies are designed to make our lives easier and better, the sheer quantity of different options available makes choosing one set quite difficult.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the jargon and lingo that you might encounter during your hearing aid research, but it’s important to keep in mind that all of this new technology is designed to help us.
To demystify all of this hearing aid technology and to help you go into your next hearing aid conversation with more background information, here are some things to consider before getting your next set:
Are You Tech Savvy?
You can choose how much technological investment you want with your devices. While some people enjoy the ability to customize their hearing aids and the ability to fine-tune them to a specific situation, many people prefer not to think about them at all.
Luckily for those who are less technologically inclined, modern hearing aids often come with a ‘set it and forget it’ mode so you don’t have to do anything but wear them. The more technologically savvy amongst us can opt for hearing aid models with functions that give the wearer a more customized experience.
What Are Your Needs?
When do you most need your hearing aids? During business meetings, so you can hear the person across the room? Or on a busy subway train so you can talk to your friends without the distraction of the background noise?
It’s important to understand what you need your hearing aids for so that you can communicate your unique needs to your hearing healthcare professional during your next hearing aid fitting. This information can help your provider determine what kinds of hearing aids might be right for you.
For example, if you’re someone who constantly has to turn up the volume to be able to hear the game on the TV or radio, then you might be interested in hearing aids that can connect wirelessly to smartphones, computers, tablets, TVs, and radios to directly stream music into your ears.
Or, if you’re someone who enjoys time outdoors, you might be interested in a device with wind noise reduction technology. This might seem like a very specialized kind of technology, but if you’re a golfer, boater, biker, or general outdoor enthusiast who wears hearing aids, you could find that it’s difficult to hear in windy environments. This new technology helps reduce the noise impact of wind so you can better hear and understand conversations with your friends and loved ones.
At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that all of this hearing aid technology is designed to make our lives better. It might seem overwhelming at first, but if you consider your needs, and your comfort levels with technology, you can be better prepared for a discussion with your hearing healthcare provider about your next set of hearing aids.
