What Is Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss occurs to most people as they age. It can be due to aging, exposure to loud noise, medications, infections, head or ear trauma, congenital or hereditary factors, disease processes and other causes. The vast majority of hearing problems do not require medical or surgical intervention. Some 90 to 95 percent of all cases of hearing loss can be helped with hearing aids.
It is estimated there are some 31.5 million people in the USA with hearing loss. Approximately one third of seniors aged 75 years and older have significant hearing loss. About 14 percent of all people aged 45 to 64 years have demonstrable hearing loss. This negatively impacts their quality of life, personal relationships, and of course the ability to communicate.
Why ARE Hearing Aids SO Expensive?
Custom hearing aids are made individually to the shape of your ear, and each are “one of a kind”. The components are welded under a microscope and juggled around to fit in narrow, curved little spaces. They may pass through fifty pair of hands during the process.
About 15% of these have to be remade, to sound, feel and perhaps appear invisible.
A certain number of people return them for refund. They cannot be resold. This adds to the cost for everyone.
Very important is the time necessary with your hearing professional. You are not only buying a piece of hardware. If you buy a computer, you will never see the salesman again, but dispensing HA’s requires testing, consulting, ongoing professional education, modification and a commitment to service for the life of the instrument. The instrument is the “hardware”; the “software” is all the testing and services required to ensure optimum hearing over the life of the instrument. It doesn’t work to try to separate them.
All these factors (and more) go into the cost of bringing you these tiny magic computerized sound systems.
The good news is – as the technology gets better and better, the “entry level” aids also get better. Choosing a “good” instrument from the ”good, better, best” scale gets you a lot more now than it did three years ago!
Why do some people have a hard time getting used to hearing aids?
There are lots of reasons people have trouble getting used to hearing aids. Both expectations and hearing aids need to be adjusted. It’s impossible to set all the parameters of a good hearing aid for an individual on the first visit. Factors that vary for each person include: the characteristics of their individual hearing loss, the acoustics of their ear canal and sinuses, the sounds around them in their daily life (think live theater, grandchildren’s voices, different telephones etc.), their tolerance or intolerance for louder sounds – the list goes on. The professional must listen carefully to your experience, and it will be important to bring your careful observations to her.
While I would like to give the reader an appreciation for the complexity of dealing with sound, I don’t want to scare you off either! Here are some of the problems people have had. They all are solvable!
Too Much Noise!
- The world is a noisy place. Unfortunately most people wait years before seeking help, and therefore live in a quiet world for so long, that the quiet becomes more comfortable – but with it comes isolation, less participation in life and frequently depression.
- Get help early. There will be less of a problem getting accustomed to everyday sounds if you are not used to a quieter world.
- Buy good aids if you can – digital programmable aids can usually be programmed to reduce background noise.
- Expect to see your dispenser several times in the first month or so for tune-ups. A good dispenser will start a new wearer with lower volume and work up. Write down exactly what sounds are annoying, so your specialist can adjust them properly.
- Be patient in the adjustment period, and wear the aids as much as you can. This is not like new glasses! – Your ears and brain have to get used to hearing again.
My Own Voice is Too Loud or Echoes
- People with normal hearing do hear their own voice louder than the voices of others. If you have had a significant hearing loss for a significant time, it will take time to get used to your own voice, even if the hearing aids are set perfectly. Try reading aloud to yourself about 10 minutes a day.
- Putting anything in your ears can give you a “plugged up” feeling and sound. This is because your head and sinuses all resonate with your own voice normally, but normally some of this sound escapes out the ears, instead of remaining trapped in the head. The venting of your ear mold or hearing instrument helps to relieve this. The newer instruments, with good feedback cancellation can use larger vents, and give you a more open feeling. Your dispenser may be able to increase the vent size or change the shape of the hearing aid to give you a more open sound.
- Most new or better hearing aids can be programmed to reduce the low frequencies, and therefore the echo or “in a barrel” sound. Ask your dispenser.
I Don’t Like the Way it Sounds
- Try to describe the way it sounds to your hearing health professional. Use any words you like. At our office we have a list to choose from that may help you find the words. Maybe dishes and paper sound too loud, or speech is not clear. Most sounds can be adjusted to sound natural.
Expectations
- Don’t expect to hear like you did when you were 18 years old.
- Don’t expect to hear better than those around you with normal hearing. Some places are just too noisy for the rest of us too, or have poor acoustics. I have normal hearing and have to ask for repetition regularly from speakers in the car, while walking on the beach with a soft surf sound, and when the kitchen fan or water is running. Stores with hard surfaces and high ceilings are difficult too.
- As I explained above, there is a period during which your ears adjust, and your dispenser adjusts the hearing aids. If a patient expects to pick up these little pieces of hardware and be done, he will be disappointed. Commit to this process of adjusting, and expect to see your professional several times. A lot depends on him or her. That’s why you chose a good one!
Bottom line – if you have a good dispenser, good hearing aids, and a good attitude, all these things can be overcome, and you can enjoy a good result.
What If I Don’t Like Them?
Consumers are protected by the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act. You will see that the consumer must give the dispenser a chance to adjust or replace the hearing aids to meet his satisfaction within the 30 day period. It gives both the patient and dispenser a period of time to work together to achieve a good result, at no risk to the consumer. Some dispensers will extend this warranty to 45 or 60 days, as it gives a longer time to work together without pressure towards the goal of hearing better. If you have in good faith worked with the dispenser, and together cannot achieve a satisfactory result, you are guaranteed a full refund.
The key is to bring all your observations with you to your follow up visits, so that your hearing professional has a chance to either adjust or replace your hearing aids. If they are not satisfactory right now, make an appointment – we hate to see folks frustrated or not using their aids.
At Ears to Hear, we provide a minimum 45 day guarantee period, and can extend that if more time is needed.
