What Hearing Aids are Best for Your Needs?

The hearing aid market expands every year, offering patients living with hearing loss an ever-expanding set of options. We’ll look at some of the things you’ll need to consider when searching for the best hearing aids for your needs. 

Choose a hearing aid style

Hearing aids come in a variety of styles, each of which offers various advantages and

disadvantages:

• Completely-in-canal (CIC) hearing aids: CIC hearing aids are currently one of the smallest and most discreet on the market. They fit entirely within the ear canal and are usually invisible from the outside. They are also less likely to pick up wind noise. However, they may not include additional features such as directional microphones and require special tools to remove. 
• In-the-canal (ITC) devices: These hearing aids are larger than their CIC counterparts but are still very discreet. They usually feature an outer section with memory and volume control on the exterior and come with a limited number of additional features, such as wireless connectivity. 
• In-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids: ITE hearing aids are larger still and come with outer sections that cover most of the ear opening. Because they’re bigger, they can house more powerful speakers, making them better for patients with severe and profound hearing loss. 
• Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids: BTE hearing aids are the largest, most feature-packed hearing aid available on the market. They are not discreet, but they provide longer battery life and more features than their smaller relatives. 

Consider the features you need

While choosing a particular form factor is important, so too is getting all the features you need to accommodate your variety of hearing loss. 

These could include: 

• Telecoils for connecting your hearing aid directly to your telecoil-compatible phone.
• Remote controls for easy setting adjustment.
• Variable programming to switch between settings, depending on your sound environment. 
• Wireless capabilities for streaming from another household devices.
• Rechargeable batteries
• Noise reduction technology to cut out wind noise and annoying feedback loops
• Synchronization features that let you determine the direction of incoming sounds 
• Artificial intelligence features that adjust settings depending on your sound environment.

Properly define your hearing loss

Before you choose a hearing aid, you should ask your hearing health profession for a hearing test to determine your hearing loss profile. Having that information puts you in a much better position to figure out which type of hearing aid you should lose. Patients with mild hearing loss, for instance, may prefer to choose CIC or ITC devices. Those with profound hearing loss, however, may need heftier BTE kits. 

Check the warranty

Hearing aid manufacturers will usually include a warranty, promising to repair your device if it malfunctions for reasons outside of your control.

Ask for a trial period

Sometimes, you may be able to ask for a trial period to try out your hearing aid before purchasing it outright. This gives you time to see whether you and your assistive hearing device are a good match. Remember, getting used to your hearing aid can take several weeks.