Which Hearing Aid Should You Choose?
If you think you need a hearing aid, or your family members are constantly at you to get one, the first thing you need to do is get your ears and hearing checked to confirm the extent of your hearing loss.Your hearing difficulty may have a simple medical or physiological cause unrelated to age or other factors and it’s possible that medical treatment will solve the problem. However, if your GP advises you to, then think about buying a hearing aid. Modern hearing aids cost between £700 and £3,000 each, depending on the model type and technology. They should definitely go on your household contents insurance policy!
Hearing aids are available in different shapes, sizes and types and can be purchased privately.
Hearing aids employ either analogue or digital technology to processes sounds.Some are worn just behind the ear while others fit right inside the ear. Unlike consumer electronics gizmos, if a hearing aid is digital that doesn’t mean it will always be compact and unobtrusive.However, with digital hearing aids it is possible to adjust the unit very precisely to suit your hearing loss.Many digital aids can be programmed with different settings for different sound environments at the touch of a button. Some digital hearing aids adjust themselves automatically with directional microphones and very good feedback management filters so you can pick out individual voices even in a crowded and noisy space.
If you find small or fiddly controls awkward, you may prefer to use the larger type of aids. However, some people find it less obvious and obtrusive to use an in-the-ear type of aid. Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids have an ear mould, which sits right inside your ear. The hearing aid lies just behind your ear and a plastic tube connects it to the ear mould. This is the commonest type of NHS hearing aid. In-the-ear (ITE) and in-the-canal (ITC) aids have their working parts in the ear mould so the whole aid fits into your ear and is virtually invisible, but if you have severe hearing loss, or very small ear canals, these aids are not really suitable.
Bone conduction hearing aids (BAHA) are for people with conductive hearing loss or those who cannot wear a conventional hearing aid. They deliver sound through the skull using vibrations and one type requires a small operation behind the ear to fit. CROS/BiCROS hearing aids are for people with hearing in one ear only. CROS hearing aids pick up sound from the side with no hearing and feed it to the better ear. BiCROS aids amplify sound from both sides and feed it into the ear that has some hearing.
Which type of hearing aid you choose will also depend on how much you’re willing to spend and which technology is best suited to your hearing loss. Any decent supplier should be able to provide hearing aid services that will assist you in your choice.
