When should I upgrade my hearing aids?
This is a common question we hear from our patients, and the answer demands some thought. While hearing aids traditionally have a life-span of 3-7 years, there are several instances in which you may want to upgrade sooner.
Here are 4 reasons you may want to consider a hearing aid upgrade.
1. Your hearing aids are no longer performing well
If your hearing aids are not performing as well as they used to, the first thing to consider is cleaning or repair.
Hearing aids are subjected to earwax, moisture, and other particles, so your hearing aids may merely need a cleaning. In other cases, the electronics within the hearing aids need repair, but otherwise the hearing aids remain effective.
If your hearing aids are damaged beyond repair, however, or if they are beyond their regular life-span, you might want to upgrade to a new pair.
2. Your hearing needs are not being met
Let’s say you obtain a new job that necessitates a lot of speaking on the phone, which has regularly been a challenge for you with your present hearing aids. You learn about a new kind of hearing aid that can stream phone calls wirelessly from your iPhone directly to your hearing aids, giving you clear sound that you can freely adjust. In this situation, you may want to upgrade your hearing aids to provide for your new hearing needs.
It’s a great idea to make a list of all the scenarios in which your present hearing aids are not functioning to your preference. Then, by consulting with a hearing specialist, you can discover the hearing aids that can better meet your requirements.
3. Your hearing has changed
Hearing can and does change throughout the years, and it’s possible that your current hearing aids, while sufficient at first, are now not capable of dealing with your hearing loss. If this is the situation, you will require a new hearing examination and a new set of hearing aids programmed to correspond to your hearing loss.
4. You want to make the most of cutting edge technology
Hearing aid technology is evolving rapidly; just ten years ago it would have seemed like science-fiction to expect that you could stream music wirelessly from your iPod to your hearing aids. Every year, extraordinary new functionality is added to new hearing aid models, and you may find that you’d like to take advantage of the new technology.
For instance, perhaps you just purchased a new Apple Watch and you learned that a few of the new hearing aid types are compatible. If you want to control your hearing aids with the watch, you would need to upgrade to a appropriate model.
The decision to upgrade your hearing aids essentially boils down to answering two questions:
- Are my current hearing aids fulfilling all of my listening requirements?
- Is there new technology or functionality that I would like to take advantage of?
Hearing aid technology is advancing rapidly, and most of our patients are amazed to learn what the new hearing aid models are capable of. And the truth is, you can’t really answer the second question without knowing what’s available to you.
If you would like to learn about what some of your options are, give us a call today and we’ll show you all the available technology and how it could make your life better and easier. You may be surprised at what you discover.