Determining the Best Hearing Aids for Your Level of Hearing Loss
Stay connected to the ones you love with a hearing aid that fits your lifestyle.
Hearing aids come in a variety of types and styles. Every hearing aid is slightly different in what they can do for you, so “the best” hearing aid for you will depend on the results of your hearing test and your lifestyle. If a hearing aid isn’t strong enough or doesn’t treat the type of hearing loss you have, it just won’t work the way you expect it to. This is why we start your consultation with a hearing test.
Why Should I Consider Hearing Aids?
An analog hearing aid amplifies sound so your ear receives it at a louder volume. A digital hearing aid digitizes the sounds you hear. That means it goes the extra step of eliminating background noises and frequencies that interfere with the sounds you’re trying to focus on. An analog hearing aid acts as a microphone and speaker, but digital hearing aids can perform more complex functions – such as separating speech from background noise, and changing the frequency of sounds to make them more easily discernible and pleasing to the ear.
Digital hearing aids have many benefits over analog hearing aids including:
- Digital hearing aids enhance the sound of speech, and greatly reduce bothersome background noise, to ensure you hear the person talking to you.
- Digital hearing aids are better able to eliminate feedback – the loud ringing sound that sometimes emanates from an analog hearing aid.
- The volume level of a digital hearing aid automatically adjusts to changes in the environment so you don’t have to make manual adjustments.
Do I Need Bluetooth Hearing Aids?
Most hearing aid manufacturers produce hearing aids that utilize Bluetooth technology to connect with smartphones, tablets and music-streaming devices. Bluetooth technology provides these capabilities without overly draining battery life, which can be important if this is a feature you anticipate using a lot. Other hearing aids allow you to connect to Bluetooth using an additional device called a streamer.
Aren’t All Hearing Aids Wireless?
Most modern hearing aids don’t feature any visible wires, cables or cords. The term “wireless” indicates that the hearing aid can communicate with other electronic devices – including smartphones, computer tablets, smart TVs and streaming devices. If you have two hearing aids they are also able to communicate with each other. Non-wireless hearing aids are unable to communicate with other electronic devices or receive streaming audio.
Wireless hearing aids allow you to:
- Hear speech, music or sounds in both ears simultaneously, even if the sound was initially picked up by only one of the hearing aids.
- Change the volume in both hearing aids by simply pressing a button.
- Exclude any unwanted ambient noise in the room that may interfere with comfortable listening.
- Create custom settings for unique sound environments – such as a noisy restaurant or busy shopping mall.
- Stream television shows, movies, internet radio stations and podcasts directly to the hearing aids without static or distortion.
- Adjust the volume of a television without increasing the volume for other listeners (though you may need a streaming accessory).
- Increase the clarity of speech or music over unwanted background noise.
- Add a remote control to adjust the hearing aid volume, or switch between electronic devices that provide streaming music or sound.
Which Types of Hearing Aids Are Best for Me?
The severity of your hearing loss, the shape of your ear as well as your listening needs are important factors to consider when choosing hearing aids. Depending on the results of your test we may suggest one of the following hearing aid types.