Which one is for me?

When you first realise you have a hearing loss, all of the information available about hearing aids can be quite scary and overwhelming. Getting hearing aids can be a significant financial investment and being able to communicate with others is really important. So how do you sift through all that information to choose the right hearing aid for you? Well, the good news is you don’t need to do it on your own. Your hearing specialist is here to help you work out which hearing aids are most suitable for your needs. However, knowing a little about the process will also help you navigate your way through it.

Before getting into which hearing aids are suitable for you, your hearing specialist will first want you to have a hearing check in the clinic. By doing a full hearing assessment, the hearing specialist will have the information they need about your hearing, your lifestyle and communication needs so that they can support you to find the best hearing aids.

There are different styles of hearing aids available. These include ones where all the hearing aid sits in your ear. These can vary from tiny little ones that sit deep in the canal called invisible in canal hearing aids (IIC’s) through to ones that fill up all the ear – called in the ear hearing aids (ITE’s). There are also some hearing aids where all the hearing aid electronics are behind the ear (BTE’s) and some where part of the electronics are behind the ear but there are also some parts – mainly the speaker – that sits in the ear canal – these are called receiver in the canal hearing aids or RIC’s. The style of hearing aid that is best for you will depend on your hearing loss, hearing communication needs, your ear anatomy and your preference. Make sure if you have a preference that you tell your hearing specialist and they will discuss with you whether this is a good option for you once they have all of the information.

There are also many different brands of hearing aids, and each brand has different levels of technology – the higher the technology, the more sophisticated they are to help you in noisy environments. Each brand does things a little differently and has different features they do better than others. It is important to consider whether the hearing clinic you are seeing offers a range of brands or just one. Here at Hearing Aid Specialists SA, we are an independent clinic and offer a range of brands so we can recommend the one that is best suited to your needs. We also take the time to listen to you about your hearing needs so we can guide you about which level of technology is right for you. Not everyone needs the top of the range technology that are the most expensive hearing aids, but it is important to have enough technology to support your communication goals.

Most importantly, remember our hearing specialists at Hearing Aid Specialists SA are here to help you and make this process as easy as possible. We are always happy to answer your questions so bring any questions or concerns with you – you can even write them down – so we can make sure we answer them for you. If you are concerned about your hearing book an appointment with us for a hearing assessment and we will guide you through the process to help you choose the right hearing aid for you.