Selecting a Hearing Aid for Your Lifestyle

There are a lot of hearing aids out there on the market — how do you which one is right for you?

After your audiologist recommends that hearing aids are right for you, they will work with you to determine which hearing aid is right for you, based on many factors, including your lifestyle. Hearing aid technology is so forward-thinking that different hearing aids are available for different types of lifestyles.

Activity and hearing aids

When considering your hearing aid, your audiologist will need to understand what type of life you lead and, more importantly, what type of lifestyle you wish to lead. Do you travel? Do you have kids or grandkids? Have you been avoiding certain environments and social situations because they are difficult to hear in? During this appointment is the time to think about the life you’d like to live with your new hearing aids. For example, do you wish to reconnect with friends on the phone? Go out with your spouse for a weekly dinner and movie date? If so, you’ll want hearing aids that work well for loud environments.

In most cases, more advanced digital hearing aids are designed for people who encounter many different listening situations with varying degrees of background noise. Most people living sedentary lives at homes with little background noise will probably only require basic models.

Aesthetic preferences

The other factor affecting the technology in your hearing aid is your preferences. Do you want a hearing aid that is basically invisible or would you prefer a hearing aid large enough to show off? Would you prefer to control the volume of your hearing aids or that volume automated? Would you like remotes, wireless accessories and other gadgets, which may be useful for people who have issues with manual dexterity? Your audiologist will discuss these options with you.

Because of the in depth nature of this appointment, it’s a good idea to bring a spouse, friend or loved one to your hearing aid fitting with you. After all, it may have been your spouse or another loved one who finally convinced you to go see an audiologist. Your spouse or friend can serve as a second voice for your audiologist during the fitting process.

Hearing aid fitting

After deciding the type of hearing aid that fits your lifestyle, the next step is the hearing aid fitting. This appointment lasts between one and two hours. During the appointment, your audiologist will verify the hearing aids are providing the correct amount of amplification to your ears. Your audiologist will program your hearing aids based on the results of the audiogram, or hearing test, conducted during your prior appointment.