At our office; like many other medical practices, we will set our patients with their next future appointment before they leave.   We do this to make sure the hearing instruments are being checked, cleaned and analyzed and adjustments made if necessary.  We also check the ears and remove any wax that may be looming.  We strive to “not miss anything” when it comes to your hearing care.

This week, I had 2 different sets of patients; (husband and wives) ask me “how do you know when it is time for new hearing aids?”  

1. It is important that you are getting annual hearing examinations to make sure your hearing aids are adjusted to your hearing and communication needs.   We try to keep our patients on an annual (or close to that) testing basis.   
2. Are you struggling in area’s that you normally have not had a problem?
3. Does background noise seem to be bothering you more?
4. Is your spouse complaining that you do not hear them?
5. Are you withdrawing from group activities that may be noisy?
6. Has your updated hearing test showed changes in your hearing ability?
7. Do you are Tinnitus and is it worse?
8. Do you Love music but not the way it sounds with your old aids?
9. How old are your hearing instruments?  
10. DO YOU WANT TO HEAR AND UNDERSTAND BETTER?

Newer updated technology is literally night and day to technology that was considered premium just 2-3 years ago.  The systems run faster and cleaner.  The engines that power them are 72% quieter than just 3 years ago.  The quieter the engine noise the truer the reproduction of sound and speech to the brain… the easier to understand.  Instead of just amplifying sound…now hearing instruments can analyze speech signal with competing noise and adapt rapidly to provide the best speech understanding in all areas.  Gyroscopes in the instruments determine where and who you are looking at and with whom you are trying to converse with.

My best advice…. If you are wondering if would hear better with updated technology… more than likely YES!  Remember… To Hear Better Is To Live Better!

By: Roseann B. Kiefer, B.A., BC-HIS