Buying a hearing aid is quite easy but finding the right one that enables you to hear clearly is something most of us ignore. You may find multiple variants, brands and models of hearing aids online and the price varies massively.
The objective of buying a hearing aid is to reclaim your clear hearing. This guide will tell you how you can avoid wasting your money and find the best solution for your hearing needs.
Following is a list of important points you must consider before you buy a machine for your ears:
- It’s important to consult someone who has medical expertise in hearing issues, such as an audiologist, an ENT doctor or a hearing aid specialist.
- Just as every individual is different, every hearing loss and hearing need is different too.
- Hearing devices are delicate instruments that got to be prescribed and fitted to treat each patient’s actual hearing loss and shape of the ear.
- You should meet trained experts having the experience and technology know-how needed to exactly diagnose and measure your degree of hearing loss, then prescribe and administer a personalized solution for you. It also includes providing ongoing support and care, to make sure you get an answer that’s custom-fit to your precise needs and lifestyle,
- Yes, there are plenty of low-cost hearing devices available online or at the airport duty-free shops, but they’re false hearing device.
- Many websites offer what they call PSAPs – personal sound amplification products – and these are often temptingly cheap. They simply make everything louder (including background noise) and fail miserably beyond that.
- Hearing aids are an item you should not purchase without meeting a specialist face to face. You are better off by not purchasing them online. You may find Online purchasing cheaper and more convenient, but that does not make it a recommended treatment for hearing impairment.
- Internet-bought hearing devices may sound like a beautiful proposition, but cutting corners when it involves your health is almost always a stupid idea.
Moving ahead, we have created a 8 step guide for you to find a perfect hearing aid solution for yourself.
1. You will need to undergo a hearing test to get proper hearing aids
If you do not undergo a hearing test before buying hearing aids, the devices might not meet all of your needs. What’s more, there’s always the likelihood that your hearing impairment is caused by another underlying medical condition or maybe the result of earwax build-up. You’ll not even need hearing aids in some cases. While it’s vital to admit when your hearing is suffering, seek treatment, circumventing a hearing test may stop you from finding the most suitable device for your specific needs.
2. Your ears need customized Hearing aids
A hearing expert takes precise ear measurements and follows up with patients to make sure that their hearing aids are working properly. The fact stays that hearing aids must be worn daily to be effective, you’ll want to ensure that your hearing aids fit well and thus you constantly keep adjusting them. Once you order these devices online, you certainly won’t be qualified to customize them to fit your ears with accurate precision. Hearing aids that do not fit well, cause discomfort or are too loose will quickly be locked into a drawer never to be heard from again (pun intended) making that great “deal” a bad deal.
3.Your hearing aids need programming to best fit your needs
Rohan stated that modern hearing devices have advanced digital technology. And an audiologist has to program them to best meet your hearing needs. Based on your lifestyle, you will need your hearing aids programmed to match your job, home life or hobbies. However, this needs fine-tuning from an audiologist or hearing health care professional, and this precisely is what cannot be found online.
You will not receive the services of an audiologist while online forums may provide some basic answers to FAQS, you will not have access to the robust knowledge of an audiologist. Whereas experts at Ear solutions, did counselling, hearing rehabilitation assignments, adaptation monitoring, device adjustment, follow-up visits and general support for Rohan as he acclimatised to his new hearing aids.
4.Brand choice & right fit
Selecting a proper hearing aid for a client requires in-depth knowledge of the products and user requirement. This usually happens through a minimum of a half-hour discussion where your hearing care professional understands makes a choice based on your age, your listening requirements, your professional requirements, your cosmetic needs, your budget, phone and television usage and what type (BTE/ ITC/ CIC/ RIC/ IIC) of instrument suits your hearing impairment. Not only this, you also get to look and feel your preferred brand of choice. But if you purchase the hearing device online, but you also compromise on these factors.
5.Difference between a hearing aid and a sound amplifier
The latter is usually advertised online as hearing device and sold at way cheaper price. However, it won’t provide matching robust capabilities of a digital hearing aid. More so, sound amplifiers aren’t designed specifically for those with hearing loss. So though it appears like you’re getting “hearing aids” for a steal, online, there’s a chance you’re getting nothing but just an amplifier. What’s worse is that for those with hearing impairment, sound amplifiers could do more harm than good. Like damage to all other frequencies that you can still hear.
6. Warranty
All good hearing aid companies today mention a disclaimer on their marketing materials and website.” Warranty may be considered void for hearing aids purchased online”.
7. Hearing aid manufacturers discourage it
The manufacturers themselves discourage it! Do you think you should need another explanation when the manufacturers themselves explicitly take this stand? Rohan said exasperatedly.
8. Peace of Mind
Lastly, but importantly, the peace of mind your hearing care professional will offer you adds significantly to your experience about your hearing aids. Knowing that there’s someone to take care of all your concerns and questions throughout your usage gives one a peace of mind. This is often true and important when buying high-tech products of which the client rarely has enough knowledge to manage.
Better Hearing Institute conducted a survey that included 2,000 people which reflected a clear conclusion:
People who underwent an expert clinically validated fitting process reported to be happy with their hearing aids.
- 94% said would happily recommend the professional they visited their friends
- 99% – felt that their hearing aids provided a worthwhile benefit.
Online buyers of hearing aids expressed a fair amount of dissatisfaction with the experience.
- Just 39% admitted to advising their friends the website they’d purchased from.
- Only 14% felt that the brand of hearing aid was worth a repeat purchase,
- and a mere 12% felt satisfied with their hearing aid
We hope you now will be able to make a healthy decision about your hearing. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to call us at 9015116116 or Book a Free Consultation of 45 minutes with our top audiologist.