You already know that you need to get hearing aids, so now what? Hearing aids will soon become an essential part of your life so purchase wisely. Quality hearing aids can be purchased from a hearing aid specialist, but the cheaper flimsy ones can only be found on the internet. It’s up to you to decide what you expect from the device and how much you can afford to pay. What should you look for when investing in hearing aids?
Cheap Internet Imitations Are Not Actually Hearing Aids
While they seem to be a bargain, those poor quality internet hearing assistance devices will end up costing you more. They are very low-quality and don’t perform very well. What money you save on the device itself, you end up losing because you have to continuously replace the batteries, and you will replace them a lot.
These low-quality devices will help amplify sound, which is the basic feature of hearing aids but they don’t do anything else. Modern, high-quality digital hearing aids integrate different technologies to deliver a device customized to your needs. Several significant features will be sacrificed if you decide to purchase a cheap online device.
You need to recognize that your new hearing aids are an investment in your future. Hearing impacts every aspect of your life so it’s not the place you want to look to save money. If you are not able to afford quality hearing aids, there may be other ways for you to get them, so don’t settle for something that is not what you really need.
Analog Vs. Digital
Digital hearing aids offer higher quality sound that is much more reliable. If you run across analog hearing aids, move on and shop for the digital units, instead.
Reputable suppliers don’t even have analog hearing aids at this time. It’s important to know analog devices are still out there, though, and to understand the difference. Low-quality analog signals are what the older out-dated hearing aids process. With analog hearing aids, the quality of the sound isn’t consistent.
Selecting The Very Best Features
When you go looking for hearing aids think about the two elements which are features and style. You want a comfortable style that offers features that make your life easier. A few standard features to think about include:
- Directional microphones
- Environmental noise control
- Noise reduction
- Remote controls
- Telecoils
- Direct audio input
- Rechargeable batteries
- Bluetooth
- Variable programming
- Wireless connectivity
- Synchronization
Think about the Styles
When you start researching hearing aids, you’ll see there are a lot of styles available to you. Luckily, there are so many styles to choose from that finding a style which works for your situation is almost a guarantee. The various styles of hearing aids include:
- Behind-the-Ear (BTE)
- Open Fit
- Receiver-in-the-Ear (RIE)
- Receiver-in-the-Canal (RIC)
- In-the-Ear (ITE)
- In-the-Ear (ITE)
To get a fairly good idea of each style just take a look at the names. BTE hearing aids incorporate a piece that sits behind the ear. It attaches to clear tubing and an ear-mold that rests at the opening of the ear canal.
Did you already figure out that ITE units go “inside of the ear”? It’s a single unit that rests in the opening of the ear canal. There is nothing that goes behind the ear. ITC indicates “in the canal” and they are very much like ITE’s but ITC’s go further into the ear canal so you won’t see them so much.
RIC devices and RIE devices have a “receiver in the canal” and a “receiver in the ear” respectively, which are then connected to a unit behind the ear. Both styles are generally less noticeable than BTE hearing aids.
Rather than having ear-molds, open fit units, which are a kind of BTE, have a little tube that goes into the ear canal. If you don’t like the feeling of having something stuck inside your ear, this style is a smart choice for you.
After going over all of these options, you need to decide which style and options will fit your needs the most. For instance, Bluetooth is a great function to have, particularly if you use your smartphone or computer a lot. Rechargeable batteries save you money on replacement batteries and telecoil is great if you have to listen to lectures or seminars a lot.
Finally, Consider Your Buying Options
Most qualified retailers will custom fit the device and give a free trial period. That’s where you will want to go to buy your hearing aids. The fact is, when it comes to hearing aids, you can’t be sure until you try them, so having the opportunity to try them for a while is helpful.
A good quality hearing aid will come with a good warranty so be sure to check that out as well. What kind of coverage does it come with? Some pay only for replacement parts, some cover the labor, also, and what about a new hearing aid if can’t be fixed?
Schedule an appointment with a hearing specialist for a checkup and hearing test before you purchase your hearing aids. Your hearing trouble might not call for hearing aids.