Hearing Aids and What to Expect

Once you have had your hearing tested by an Audiologist or professional HearingAid Practitioner, a diagnosis of your hearing loss will be made. If they recommend you get hearing aids, there are probably lots of questions you have about what kind you need, how much they will cost and how they are going to affect your life.

Usually, there will be recommendations made on the type of hearing loss you have. Since there are several different types of hearing aids, it can be hard to decide which one is best. The CIC or completely in the canal hearing aids aren't as visible, but some people don't like the stuffed up feeling they give you. The ITE or in the ear models are a good compromise between the CIC and the BTE or behind the ear models, but many people are choosing the BTE because they come in all kinds of fashionable colors and patterns.


Whichever kind you choose, how they affect your daily life is a concern to some people, other than price. You can expect to pay anywhere from $1000 to $2000 per ear, depending on the type and features of hearing aids you choose. There are usually financing plans to make them easier to afford, however.

As far as daily wearing of your hearing aids, most people will wear them all day. In fact, the more you wear them, the better adapted your brain will become because it will be hearing sounds more clearly. In fact, some people have gone through auditory deterioration because the brain has gotten lazy from hearing muffled sounds that it doesn't have to interpret. Once it starts hearing sounds clearly again, it can take a few weeks to get used to it and your hearing will improve as it gets more accustomed to hearing sounds.

Many hearing aids are water-resistant, but that doesn't mean you should wear them in the shower or to go swimming. It makes sense to take them out during these situations and if you are going to be sweating a lot, like during heavy exercise. Also, you should remove them at night when you sleep, but you need to be sure to remove the battery so that your battery won't drain and also they can get dried out during the night. Even when you are alone, just hearing different sounds will keep your brain stimulated and that can help your hearing improve.

Besides letting you hear sounds you have been missing out on, hearing aids can restore the part of your brain that is suffering from auditory deprivation from lack of use. You won't get these benefits if you only wear them sporadically because the brain needs the constant stimulation to get it back into processing sounds like it used to.Most people like to ease into hearing aids, but sometimes it is better to wear them as much as possible, especially at first to get better use to them. Your hearing will improve over a period of time, but hearing aids aren't a restorative tool, but one that will help you hear better when you are wearing them.