Usually the first thing an otolaryngologist (an ear, nose, and throat doctor) hears from their new patients is “I know hearing aids are not going to help me.”
They are typically wrong with their prediction but their pessimism is understandable because it seems everyone knows someone who’s had trouble with hearing aids.
With a desecrated reputation, plus the cost of the hearing aids are not cheap and a confusing array of providers and products helps to explain why most of the 35 million people – adults and children – with hearing losses don’t have hearing aids. Only 11 million hearing aids were in use in 2004 according to the Better Hearing Institute, a non-profit group sponsored by hearing aid makers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration put out a statement that said, “We know there is a very large population of hearing-impaired individuals who are not taking advantage of hearing aids.” The USFDA regulates the devices and the FDA also knows many people who are buying hearing aids and other listening devices through the Internet, without medical advice or proper fittings or recommendation on how to use them.
According to the director of adult audiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Michael Valente, getting the most from a hearing aid requires working closely with the provider before, during and after the purchase. “If they fit properly, hearing aids can make a major difference in a person’s life.”
Finding information on hearing aids can be difficult because there are so many different types, different providers and different manufacturers of hearing aid out there. An individual could do some research on the Internet; however the best thing to do would be to see an otolaryngologist or an audiologist to determine which type of hearing aid would work best with your degree of hearing loss and then research those types of hearing aids in that category.
Then try the hearing aid out in different situations, noisy places such as restaurants or places that might have a different sound like the local gym or YMCA.
