You might be surprised to learn that over 4 million people in America sensor hearing aids, but many don’t use them optimally. Although most adults are able to adjust and adapt to their hearing aids, it becomes a huge problem when it comes to small children.
Hearing aids are necessary for those who need to take steps towards hearing rehabilitation. The best way to help a family member who needs them is by giving them the confidence and resources they need to wear their hearing aids. Giving verbal reminders, showing them what alarms mean, and teaching sign language can all go a long way in creating a bridge between audiology and your loved ones.
A small child, especially one who is under three years old, will try to take out the hearing aid especially on the first few times that this gadget is attached to their ears. To avoid such problems, here’s what you need to do:
Kids can also have a flexible loop attached to hold their hearing aid when they do physical activities like dancing or running. This will help the hearing aids stay in place, and prevents them from bouncing off when they move their head back and forth.
If a family member is struggling with hearing aids, it is important to recommend seeing an audiologist to get a hearing aids prescription. This will help ensure the individual gets just the right device, determined from an expert’s recommendation.
Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
https://www.hkhearingspeech.com
One similarity between hearing aids and eyeglasses is that they work in a similar way. Eyeglasses cannot return your eyesight to normal. The same goes for hearing aids. Unless you are totally deaf, a hearing aid can:
1) Give sounds a louder and more significant quality
2) Transform sound into vibrations so that they can be recognized by your brain cells.
You might be able to hear better with your hearing aid, but you are still not hearing as well as someone with 20/20 eyesight. Although new innovations are constantly being introduced to make people’s lives easier, there are some external factors that affect its performance even if you might have a hearing aid prescribed by your audiologist. Here lists them as below:
Hearing aids can only restore some hearing, but they cannot make us hear as well as other people can. This is what makes these devices different from eyeglasses, which may be very thick so that people can still see and read normally.
This is known as speech discrimination, which is an approximation of how well you understand words; it’s measured on a scale from 0-100% (0% understanding equals constructive interference). For example, if you’ve scored 50%, then you understand half of what you hear – the rest is gibberish.
You must wear them constantly to adjust to them and reap benefits of your devices. It can take weeks before you adjust, so wear it regularly for an optimal experience.
If you must read lips in order to understand what people are saying to you, wearing hearing aids will make it much easier. Those with hearing aids should also speak clearly and laugh out loud if necessary. People speaking to them should interact face-to-face and not mumble their words.
Noise is a common problem for those with hearing loss. In a noisy environment, you may need to increase volume to the point where the voices are jarring and hard to understand. That is because you can’t decipher what someone is saying from reading their lips alone.
Rooms with excellent acoustics will improve your ability to hear out conversations while various other rooms may muffle what you’re trying to hear.
The performance of your hearing aid is not the only thing that can affect how well it works for you. Hence, it is important to note these factors before using your hearing aid to improve your hearing in conversation.
Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
http://www.hkhearingspeech.com
When you are picking up your first pair of hearing aids, it might be difficult to understand why you should have certain features.
If you’re hesitant to buy a hearing aid because of the high pitched voice, which pierces your ear at regular intervals, consider getting a new model with user likes and dislikes in mind.
One of the main features of a hearing aids might be invisibility, but not every person needs it. Wideband is a must have for those listening on TV or podcasts as it boosts very high and soft sounds that can normally do not come into focus on its own.
As the hearing aid industry continues to evolve, they continue to introduce new and better models. Hearing aids that fit discretely on your ear or on the back of your ear and nearly disappear. Now you don’t have to sacrifice quality for a discreet design.
When deciding on which features are most important for your hearing devices, you need to take the following into consideration:
Modern hearing aids go beyond amplifying the sound coming your way; they filter and convert it to digital. This means you can listen to every conversation and enjoy every moment with crystal clear clarity, thus eliminating all communication problems.
Luckily, new hearing aids won’t distract you in the midst of a crowded room. New features turn down external sound if you do not hear it well and hear you clearly when in close proximity with your friend. The new directional microphone feature allows you to focus on a sound and isolate it from the others. As a result, you are able to hear everything is the first go.
This is perhaps one of the best features of today’s hearing aids. Multiple channels allow you to experiment with different setting according to the acoustics of the environment you are in. You might hear the speech louder in some rooms and quieter in other rooms. The memory setting will allow you to adjust the microphone frequency, which will shift the channel automatically when you are certain environment.
Telecoil features, which connects your hearing aids to a loop, allows you to listen clearly in various big and loud places such as sporting arenas, places of worship, musical concerts and more. The list of location is pre-installed on the device and can be routed through Bluetooth.
The binaural processing feature in hearing aids synchronize the two hearing aids for full listening experience. By using this feature, delays or miscommunication can be prevented because there are no longer any differences in input.
Once your hearing aid connects to your mobile device, it stores settings in your hearing preference for different environments and the programming feature will adjust automatically.
It depends on how severe your hearing loss is. You should carefully choose a hearing aid with the features to best serve you and your life. For more information and consulation, please contact us now.
Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
and Hearing Aids Prescription
https://www.hkhearingspeech.com
Hearing aids can last for four to six years if you take care of them with regular maintenance and protection from moisture and earwax. However, how old is your hearing aid?
If it’s too outdated, it may be time for a replacement. Here are three things you need to ask yourself before making decision to replace your hearing aids:
Your hearing aids will need to be replaced over time because of environmental elements. If your hearing aids are not working well, you should first get them cleaned by an audiologist. However, if they’re still not functional after they’ve been cleaned, it may be time to purchase new ones.
In the article, they say priorities when considering when to replace your hearing aids. Here are their three priorities:
(1) Can you drive and use speaker phone?
(2) Can you hear during regular conversations or at a party?
(3) Do you hear low-pitched sounds like regular human conversation and finger snapping?
If you answer yes to all of these questions, then you can keep your hearing aids. However, if the problem doesn’t lie with the hearing aid, it Is possible that your hearing has deteriorated further. You may need to get a hearing test to determine if you should get the hearing aid replaced or a little readjustment.
It depends on what more you want from your hearing aids. As your needs change when it comes to hearing aids, you should consult with your provider or hearing professional on new technology. Today’s hearing aid settings include preprogrammed functions such as settings for a party so that background noise can be lowered and conversations can be had more easily. Speak with your provider about the most upgraded model that will suit your needs.
You should generally replace your hearing aids when they’re no longer serving their purpose. This could be because they’ve stopped functioning or you can tell it’s impacting your hearing condition in some way. It’s important to realise that this isn’t enough though – even if your hearing aid is functional, it might not result in optimal results for you and in some cases, it will need to be replaced completely.
Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
and Hearing Aids Prescription
https://www.hkhearingspeech.com
When the decision is set to get yourself a hearing aid, think of it as a necessary investment just like a car; it gives comfort to your daily life. Proper maintenance and the correct usage of that investment is directly proportional to its life.
With a hearing aid, its lifespan will stretch longer than the average when proper maintenance is observed. And the average lifespan of a hearing aid is between three to seven years which is generally accepted by specialist and manufacturers.
To achieve a longer life for your device, perform the hearing aid maintenance below:
Do not leave your aid in direct sunlight or in high temperature enclosures. Such habit will warp the plastic casing and affects severely the fitting into your ear canal.
Seawater is a rust accelerator and does not make any exception of your ear device. Remove your device and keep it safe in its casing if your prime aim is to lengthen its age.
For more details of our hearing test & assessment, and hearing aid prescription, please contact HK Hearing & Speech Centre.
Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
and Hearing Aid Prescription
https://www.hkhearingspeech.com