Hearing aids: find the right device for you

A hearing aid is a small medical device designed to improve one’s hearing ability by amplifying sounds. It helps people with hearing loss to hear better and maintain an active and social life. Today’s hearing aids have become more technologically advanced and smaller than ever before.

There are different types of hearing aids available. The most common type is placed behind the ear, and there are also hearing aids that fit inside your ear canal. There is also a broad selection of hearing aid brands and models to choose from. Hearing aids are not one-size-fits-all solutions, and the right type of hearing aid for you will depend on several factors. When you visit your local HearingLife clinic, we can help you to find the hearing aid that best suits your needs.

If you have a hearing loss, you should consider getting hearing aids. You can read about the most common signs of hearing loss to see if you can recognize any of them. We recommend seeking treatment as soon as the hearing loss is detected since untreated hearing loss can have a negative impact on your life. Wearing hearing aids is a proactive solution in treating hearing loss early and improving your quality of life. If you suspect that you might have a hearing loss, you can book a hearing test with one of our hearing care experts to learn if you might benefit from wearing hearing aids.

The average hearing aid price ranges from $2,000 to $3,500 per unit in the United States. This means that a premium pair of hearing aids - priced at $3,500 per hearing aid - would cost about $5.25 per day (when paid off over the course of 4 years). This is about the same price as a latte! Affordable hearing aids.

You can try our new hearing aid by signing up for a free, 30-day trial with no obligations. Taking the hearing aids home and wearing them as a part of your everyday routine will help you to determine if they are the right hearing aids for you.

The best hearing aid for one person might not be the best hearing aid for another. There are several things to consider when choosing the best hearing aid for your specific needs, such as hearing loss level and lifestyle preferences. When you visit a local HearingLife clinic for an in-depth hearing evaluation, a hearing care expert will identify your level of hearing ability and recommend the most optimal treatment option for your hearing needs. You can also check out our guide to finding the best hearing aid to learn about which hearing aids might be a good fit for you.

Many people experience tinnitus relief from wearing hearing aids, but the effectiveness varies from person to person. If your hearing is within normal limits and you experience hearing loss you can also try a hearing aid that only includes a tinnitus sound generator (and no sound amplification). You can work together with your hearing care professional to evaluate the right solutions for your tinnitus.

In most cases, no. In rare cases, someone with vertigo may experience that hearing aids cause pressure changes in the inner ear which affect their balance even more (vertigo is a condition where imbalances in the pressure in the inner ear cause dizziness and balance issues). As mentioned, such cases are rare. Talk to your hearing care expert to learn how to adapt to your hearing aids.

Since hearing loss develops gradually, it’s not always easy to know when your hearing changes. Studying the signs of hearing loss can help you recognize the problem, and receiving a free hearing test from a hearing care expert can help you decide whether hearing aids are warranted. Remember: annual hearing tests are as vital as getting your eyes and teeth checked. When to seek help for your hearing loss. 

It is recommended that people with hearing loss get their hearing tested roughly on an annual basis - or sooner if they feel that there have been any changes in their hearing. Additionally, hearing aids should be replaced approximately every 3 years - read more about how long hearing aids last here.

Well-fitted hearing aids do not cause headaches. A well-fitted hearing aid, in fact, should reduce the chance of headaches and tiredness because they help those with hearing loss to understand speech better, focus better, and use less energy concentrating on speech. When a hearing aid is considered to be “well-fitted,” this means that a hearing care expert has conducted both the required hearing testing and the real-ear measurements testing. These are performed to ensure that your objective and subjective feedback is taken into account, thereby ensuring that your hearing aids match your hearing needs.

Most hearing aids have a rating of IP68, where the second digit of the rating shows its level of water resistance. (The first digit of the IP indicates if your device can withstand dust, dirt and sand). These ratings range between 0 and 8, where 8 indicates the highest protection, and 0 indicates the lowest protection. Find out what to do if your hearing aids get wet here. 

Yes, it does. Similar to getting used to a new pair of glasses, there is usually an adjustment period when adjusting to hearing sounds through a new hearing aid, especially since the user has gradually been exposed to less sounds during the process of losing his or her hearing. The length of the adjustment period varies from person to person. Generally, the more you use the hearing aid, the quicker you get used to the hearing aid.

There are hearing aids available that cater to severe / profound hearing loss, and our hearing care experts are able to advise further once your hearing evaluation is completed.

If your hearing loss is caused by changes in your outer or middle ear or if you have a single-sided profound hearing loss in one ear and good hearing in the other, then a bone anchored hearing solution might be the best option for you. Bone anchored hearing solutions send sound directly into your inner ear by delivering sound vibrations through the bone, bypassing the outer and middle ear.

If you instead have a severe or profound hearing loss in your inner ear, then a cochlear implant might be the best option for you. A cochlear implant bypasses the non-functioning part of the inner ear and sends sound straight to the auditory nerve and on to the brain. This is different from traditional hearing aids that, instead, amplify the sounds, which at some point might not have the desired effect.

Unlike hearing aids, both hearing solutions involve surgery. However, both surgeries are well-proven and safe routine medical procedures, performed by an Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon (ENT).