hearing aids prescription

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Hearing Aids: Prescription vs. Non-Prescription

Do you need a hearing aid? Maybe not, but you should think about getting one before you go out to buy one. This article explains the benefits of getting a hearing aid prescription before you purchase a hearing aid. It also highlights some of the issues that can come with hearing aid prescription.

 

What is a hearing aid prescription?

There are several different types of businesses that provide hearing aids ranging from audiologists, to ENT Doctors, to hearing aid dealers and franchise stores, and even big-box retail stores and internet sellers. Hence, it’s often recommended to take a hearing test and assessment by an audiologist in order to obtain a prescription for a hearing aid. The licensed audiologist is the most qualified hearing professional to diagnose and evaluate your hearing, and to recommend and provide a comprehensive solution to your hearing needs.

 

Whether you need hearing aids prescription or non-prescription can depend on several factors. There are elements that make prescription better than non-prescription, and vice versa.

 

What are the advantages of prescription hearing aids?

A hearing aid made by an audiologist or an ENT doctor is typically better than one you can purchase in stores. It is specifically designed for the particular needs of the person with a hearing impairment. You cannot get this type of hearing device without getting hearing aids prescription from an audiologist or an ENT specialist.

 

A hearing aid professional will diagnose your degree of hearing loss, and prescribe the optimal type of hearing aids. If you show your prescription to a supplier of hearing devices, they can tell you what model is best for your type and degree of hearinig loss.

 

The premium offered by your prescription model for your medical device is well worth it. Regular, off-the-shelf hearing aids may not work as well as the prescribed models because they are specifically designed to account for individual needs. Non-prescription models are really only suitable for some situations because you cannot customize them enough to account for different individuals.

 

A prescription hearing aid is said to last longer than a non-prescription hearing aid. Reliable and durable, they can be trusted to work for a long while. By paying the higher costs of a prescription hearing aid in the beginning, you will continue to enjoy your investment for years to come.

 

The major drawbacks of prescription hearing aids is the cost. You have to pay for an audiologist or the services of an ENT specialist who will diagnose your condition and provide you with a hearing aid prescription. From there, you may need to buy a more expensive hearing aid than if you wanted to go the non-prescription shop.

 

Most of the non-prescription hearing aids aimed at the masses aren’t made of quality materials; you really have to search for quality brands and models if you want sure that it will last a reasonable length of time.

 

 

Source:

HK Hearing & Speech Centre

Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,

and Hearing Aids Prescription

https://www.hkhearingspeech.com

How to Find the Most Effective Hearing Aid for You

Upon the recommendation of an audiologist, or an otolaryngologist, or even just a hearing aid specialist, that you need to have a hearing aid, it is best to consider several things before you purchase one.

 

The market is replete with different styles of hearing devices for all ages, infants to seniors.

 

To resolve your hearing deficiency, your choice will be essentially in coordination with any of the three ear/hearing specialist mentioned earlier.

 

Ear Professionals

At the top is the physician called an otolaryngologist who focusses on ear, nose, and throat (ENT) complications in a medical sense. These specialized physicians can dispense medical advice with regards to your ear but may not fit hearing aids themselves.

 

The audiologist, with competence equal to that of the previous, is specific to hearing loss only. They may be found in the clinic of an ENT physician.

 

The hearing aid specialist may be the least among the three but is certified and as experienced as the preceding two. The road to become one, however, is as varied as the state they may wish to practice in.

 

Hearing Aid Styles

Right from there, it is all your choice of picking the professional and the hearing aid that best suits you. Luckily for you, the present level of technology has packed many of the features of the analog past to the digital present.

 

The hearing care professional will suggest a hearing aid for you in consideration of your age and the usual environment you are in. A rural setting is different from an urban one in auditory sense.

 

There are five styles of hearing aids to chose that conforms to your aesthetics and, of course, your budget. These five are labelled with three initials that tell you where they are located.

 

  • BTE (behind the ear): an inch-long device with a tube into the ear canal as speaker;
  • OTE (on the ear): barely noticeable, this is a BTE that sits on the outer ear;
  • ITE (in the ear): this is custom fitted to your outer ear but sits inside your ear;
  • ITC (in the canal): customized to fit the size and shape of your ear canal, smaller than ITE;
  • CIC (completely in the canal): the smallest and closest to the ear drum, and the most expensive of all.

 

 

If you think you need hearing aids, make sure to get a hearing aid prescription. For more details of our hearing test & assessment, and hearing aid services, please contact HK Hearing & Speech Centre.

 

 

Source:

HK Hearing & Speech Centre

Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,

and Hearing Aid Prescription

https://www.hkhearingspeech.com

Hearing Aids for Toddlers and Young Children

Babies have now grown into toddlers and they are beyond crawling, balancing to stand and walk. They have become toddlers that race through the living room, screaming and jumping with face covered in peanut butter. Not for long, they are young children in crude wooden carts in a race.

 

One good thing in the growth and development from a baby to a toddler to a young child is that they have become accustomed to the presence of the hearing aid on their ear; a big relief for any parent. The unintentional loss, the damage of the device will still be there, though.

 

If hearing loss, however, occurred or commenced within toddler age (three years old) to pre-teen, the same recommended steps are advised by leading authorities and organizations in health and hearing.

 

Evaluation

A hearing loss professional will do a hearing test on your child to determine the extent of damage and the severity of hearing loss. It is important for the parent to understand that early treatment will prevent the child from language and speech trouble and learning difficulty.

 

The same professional may also recommend the best and suitable type of hearing aid to that particular child. Not all hearing aids are exact remedy for every child. This device will also help the child socially in school and at home.

 

After selection of the hearing aid type, the audiologist will adjust the loudness of the sound that is most comfortable for the child.

 

Selection

Hearing aids basically fall into two types with variations for each type, namely:

  • BTE (Behind-the-Ear) and its lone variant, OTE (On-the-Ear);
  • ITE (In-the-Ear) and its two variants, ITC (In-the-Canal), and CIC (Completely-in-the-Canal).

Of the two main types, the BTE is best for toddlers and young children because:

  • these are sturdy and flexible;
  • tamper resistant battery doors to prevent a toddler from swallowing the battery;
  • earmolds are custom-fitted and can be replaced cheaply when the child grows;
  • some brands are hypoallergenic or waterproof.

On the other hand, an ITE hearing aid is not preferred because:

  • children’s ear canals are small;
  • of an ITE does fit in the canal, it needs to be re-cased when the child grows;
  • frequent re-casing as the child ages, makes it expensive;
  • battery doors are not tamper resistant.

 

Accessories such as retainer cords to prevent loss and damage, telephone coil, etc., are available.

 

For more details of our hearing aid services, please contact HK Hearing & Speech Centre to get a hearing aid prescription.

 

 

Source:

HK Hearing & Speech Centre

Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,

and Hearing Aid Prescription

https://www.hkhearingspeech.com

Hearing Loss Among Millennials

Those born during the years 1981 to 1996 are often referred to as the millennials, or members of the Generation Y. They may either be children of Generation X (born 1965-80), or the Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) or grandchildren thereof. Their most defining descriptions, however, are that they were the young adults at the turn of the millennium and that they were the first children to have the digital world introduced to them at birth. Thus, they are also otherwise known as the “digital natives”.

 

Although researches on hearing loss have not been age-disaggregated well, studies in 2014 reported that approximately 15% of American adults (37.5 million) aged 18 and over report some trouble hearing. In 2016, a study reported that among adults aged 20-69, the overall annual prevalence of hearing loss dropped slightly from 16 percent (28.0 million) in the 1999-2004 period to 14 percent (27.7 million) in the 2011–2012 period .

In 2011, millennials were aged 20 to 30 years old.

 

Stress is another common cause of feeling like one or both ears have experienced hearing loss . “When your body responds to stress, the overproduction of adrenaline reduces blood flow to the ears, affecting hearing.”  The millennials have rated their stress level higher than other age group cohorts, also reporting being less able to manage stress than any other generation.

 

While about 50% of hearing disability can be traced to genetic factors, the other 50 % can be traced to stress due to work issues, including life-work balance, and lifestyle choices although some lifestyles and habits can affect hearing in a positive way, while others can be harmful to hearing and lead to hearing loss . About 71% of young adults with hearing loss without other related conditions (such as intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or vision loss) were employed  showing the effect of work stress on this population.

 

Lifestyle choices like attending noisy concerts have been reported to cause hearing loss among millennials, too.

 

If you think your family or you need a hearing aid, make sure to get a hearing aid prescription. For more details of our hearing test & assessment, and hearing aid services, please contact HK Hearing & Speech Centre.

 

 

Source:

HK Hearing & Speech Centre

Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,

and Hearing Aid Prescription

https://www.hkhearingspeech.com

How to Adjust Your Hearing Aid

Due to advances in the studies on hearing and hearing loss, there are so many types of hearing aid devices in the market today. Anyone using a hearing aid should learn a few things in order to adjust to the fact that one has to wear one .

 

Tip #1 Know your loss first

Some hearing loss are severe, some are so mild a hearing aid is hardly needed. Others are so profound that people may hear but could not understand. Hearing loss is as individual as individuals get. An in-the- (ear)canal (ITC) hearing aid is custom molded and fits partly in the ear canal while an in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid is custom made in two styles — one that fills most of the bowl-shaped area of your outer ear (full shell) and one that fills only the lower part (half shell)  . The ITC is recommended for mild to moderate hearing loss in adults while the ITE is recommended for mild to severe cases.

 

Tip #2 Know your (psychological) fit

Whether one likes it or not, there is some kind of stigma attached to wearing hearing devices not only because it is associated with old age, and no one likes to go around announcing it, but also because hearing loss is a disability and no one wants to announce that, too.

 

Tip #3 Know your type

The type of hearing aid chosen should be dependent on the kind of hearing loss, the quality of the devices, and the price. Sometimes the quality of the hearing aid chosen make adjustment to the use of hearing aids less traumatic.

 

Tip #4 Know your device

There are several hearing devices now in the market. Some hearing devices called “Invisible In Ear Nano Hearing Aid Small Hearing Amplification Device” advertised as invisible hearing aids . Using and adjusting them sometimes come with RTFMYI (Read The F_ _ _ ing Manual, You Idiot) instructions. However, adjusting them comes with experience in using the device. Sometimes adjusting the device to one’s particular needs, like adjusting the volume, only require common sense after the device had been in use for some time.

 

Adjusting to hearing devices is a different matter. It needs technical understanding of how hearing aids can change one’s quality of life as well as a psychological acceptance of why only hearing aids could improve such life.

 

     

Hence, make sure that you get a hearing aid prescription if you think you need a hearing aid. For more details of our hearing test & assessment, and hearing aid services, please contact HK Hearing & Speech Centre.

 

 

Source:

HK Hearing & Speech Centre

Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,

and Hearing Aid Prescription

https://www.hkhearingspeech.com

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