Features to Look For When Buying Hearing Aids

When you have had your hearing tested, it is time to decide on the hearing aids you want. Sometimes, this might be dictated by your budget rather than features, but it is important to know that most Audiologists and Hearing Aid Practitioners have access to financing plans to make your purchase more affordable with monthly payments. You can expect to spend $1000 per ear and should plan on up to $2000 per ear for the better quality hearing aids.


Features to look for might be a Directional Microphone System (for the in-the-canal and larger models of other kinds), Feedback Cancellation, Volume Controls to adjust with the push of a button, and Remote controls for volume. Some hearing aids can work like a Bluetooth, and even through your cell phone.

Improve Hearing by Avoiding Auditory Deprivation

Hearing is a complicated process that not only involves the ears and the complex parts of them, but also involves the nervous system and the part of the brain that receives and interprets the sounds, which is an important part of the auditory process. When you hear sounds, they go through the ear at the beginning of the hearing process and travel through the nervous system to the part of the brain that hears the sounds, and figures out what it is. As your hearing loss gets worse, these other parts of the system start to lose their ability to function as well, which is why it is important to get hearing loss remedied.


Auditory deprivation can occur over a period of time where the brain no longer receives enough sound stimulation to work properly, making it harder for you to recognize sounds even after you have gotten hearing aids, sometimes, if you have been hard of hearing for a long time. Many times, this is caused from auditory deprivation and it is a case where the process gets weaker through lack of use for so long.

Ear Cleaning Tips: Better to Be Safe Than Deaf

Most of us do it wrong. We clean our ears with cotton swabs, despite warnings from the hearing community, TV commentators and mom.

Ear Wax – The Whole Sticky Story

OK, it’s not much of a story, but ear wax, called cerumen by hearing professionals, is produced by tiny glands that line the ear canal – the tube that connects the outer ear with the middle ear.

And, believe it or not, ear wax actually plays a role in protecting your hearing. This sticky substance is designed to trap dirt and other debris floating in the air before it reaches the delicate, middle and inner ear mechanisms. And, muscles in the ear canal push this debris toward the outer ear. In other words, the ear is self-cleaning, even if ear wax is kind of gross.

How to Puncture An Ear Drum in One Easy Lesson

Most of use cotton swabs to remove cerumen and other gunk that accumulates within the ear simply by living life. It’s a natural occurrence. However, many of us have actually been taught that ear hygiene requires a good reaming of the ear canal with a cotton swab. Nothing could be further from the truth.

First, there’s the obvious danger of damaging the delicate tympanic membrane. Even puncturing it. For life. That alone should be reason enough to keep cotton on a stick away from your ears. But there’s another reason.

Ear wax catches minute dust and debris that floats its way into your ear each day. And, this gunk is moved toward the outer ear, away from the eardrum. Now, every time you “clean” your ears with a cotton swab you (1) remove the sticky stuff that’s supposed to be there and (2) you push dirt, debris and cerumen further into the ear – closer to the ear drum. And over time, this wax and dirt can become impacted deep within the ear canal.

When things get this bad, professional medical help is usually required.

The Right Way to Clean Your Ears

First, don’t stick anything down the ear canal – a cotton swab, a hair pin, toothpick or, as the old cliché goes, your elbow.

Instead, use a wash cloth and gently wash the outer ear, front and back, with soap and warm water. If water tends to get into the ear canal during this cleaning phase, pick up some wax ear plugs at the pharmacy. These wax plugs can be shaped to fit the opening of your ear canal and prevent water from entering.

Dry your outer ear, (FYI, called the pina by professionals) to prevent water from entering the ear canal. Be sure to remove all soap and water from the pina.

And you’re done.

Ear Wash

If ear wax does accumulate to the point where it has a negative impact on hearing, buy an over-the-counter ear wash system which includes an ear wax softener and a rubber bulb to flush out the ear.

Use warm water and gently flush excess wax from your ear regularly – before it causes a problem. That’ll make things a whole lot easier.

Finally, if the OTC remedy doesn’t work, it’s time to seek help from your hearing health professional. An abundance of cerumen is common and there are several remedies you can try to alleviate the problem.

 John M. Adams III

jma@hearingtutor.com

Choosing a Hearing Health Professional

You wouldn’t pick a brain surgeon out of the yellow pages so why would you gamble with your hearing by selecting a hearing professional blindly. Instead, do a little research to find a hearing healthcare provider willing to work with you to deliver the best hearing solution available.

Don’t Buy a Hearing Aid By Mail or On the Web

Hearing devices must be adjusted to your specific hearing loss. If you buy a couple of units from a web site, those devices will come to you “right out of the box.” That means you’ll still require a visit to a professional for a hearing evaluation and adjustment of the device to your specific hearing loss.

If you purchase the aid from a brick-and-mortar-based business, the fitting and adjusting are usually included in the purchase price, along with warranty protection. What are you going to do if one of your web purchases blows a fuse – and the seller is in Timbuktu? Honoring the warranty is not going to be a top priority for a business 12 time zones away – especially when that business owner knows you’re a one-time buyer.

Ask for Referrals

Ask friends who wear hearing devices. The best choice is someone a friend can whole-heartedly recommend. Also, ask your medical doctor for a referral. However, remember that your physician will  recommend the best hearing professional, regardless of price so you may get a better deal elsewhere. However, if credentials and professionalism are top priorities, go with the professional recommended from your MD.

Choose a Professional Close By

Your hearing professional is your partner in improving life’s quality and you can expect to make visits to this professional regularly for everything from adjustments to maintenance to cleaning to a battery swap.

It’s much easier to make these trips when your hearing specialist is right downtown instead of half-way across the state.

Look for Credentials

Ask your hearing professional what credentials s/he’s earned. Is she a certified hearing instrument specialist, licensed by the state? Is he an audiologist? A licensed administrator of hearing exams? It’s always comforting to see a couple of diplomas on the wall along with certificates indicating professional training, and any good professional will proudly display these credentials.

Look for a Business With a Long Local History

Some hearing aid dispensers come to your home selling a single line of devices. You buy, have a problem and that salesperson is 500 miles to the west in another state entirely.

I always recommend that clients do their homework. How long has the dispensary been in business in your community? Are they members of the local Chamber of Commerce and Better Business Bureau? Are they good business citizens within your community?

These are the men and women who not only value your business, they deliver a higher quality of services and ensure that you receive the best hearing device for your needs and lifestyles.

So don’t move forward without some professional advice – local, established, credentialed and a hearing pro willing to listen to you to understand your desires and listening preferences.

Finally, if you ever get the hard sell, you’re working with the wrong hearing aid dispenser.

John M. Adams III

http://www.hearingtutor.com

Basic Information About Hearing Aids

When your hearing is not as good as it used to be, you will need to be tested by an Audiologist or Hearing Aid Practitioner. Once the testing has revealed that you have hearing loss, you might be recommended for hearing aids. They are an amplification system that includes a battery that powers them, a microphone, an amplifier and a speaker or receiver to broadcast the sound where you can hear it.


The way hearing aids work is that sounds are picked up by the microphone, sent to the amplifier and then sent to the receiver or speaker and you hear the sound. There may need to be adjustments made to get the results that are most desirable.

Hearing Loss Can Occur in Diabetics and Might be Related

If you are diabetic, chances are you need to visit an audiologist and have your hearing tested. Even if you don't realize you have any kind of hearing loss, it has been discovered that 68% of diabetics have hearing loss, especially in the higher frequencies, which is also known as nerve deafness because diabetes can damage the nerves and blood vessels in the ear which can cause hearing loss in the higher frequencies.

Some Fun Things Lead to Hearing Loss

Many hearing aid practitioners and audiologists can tell you that hearing loss can happen for a number of reasons. Some of the common ones, like loud rock concerts at 115 decibels are understandable, but others might surprise you. Anytime you are exposed to sound levels over 85 decibels, you are above the safety threshold for safe hearing. In fact, more young people than ever are exposed to the constant loud noise that exceeds the safe threshold and comes from ear buds stuck in their ears from MP3 players and iPods, but that can seem more obvious than other harmful things that seem like fun.

Understanding Hearing Loss

Many people that start looking for Audiologists or Hearing Aid Practitioners to help them with their hearing problem might be doing it reluctantly. By the time they admit they might have hearing loss, they have probably gone through several months of not hearing correctly and maybe longer. Of course, there is birth defect hearing loss, but many people start experiencing hearing loss because of long exposure to excessive noise levels, or single incidences of an extremely loud noise. The most common hearing loss comes as we age, however.

Hearing Loss Denial

The average person in a recent study, between the ages of 50 and 75 think their hearing is above average for their age, but family members of those same people think they need to have their hearing tested. What that indicates is that hearing loss from age related causes starts to occur around the age of 50 and that the people in this age group are either in hearing loss denial, or their families are wrong. It would appear that they are in hearing loss denial.

The thing is that hearing loss denial is common, but the older you get the more likely you need to see an Audiologist and be tested. Usually by the time your vision starts to get weaker, you also need to have your hearing tested. The problem is that weaker hearing is not as obvious as weaker vision so people will tend to get their vision corrected sooner because they need it to drive and read, but they don't put as much emphasis on hearing, which is a shame.

What to Know About Hearing Testing

When you suspect or have been told that you might have hearing loss, you might not know where to turn. If you are older than 50 and it is seems to be a gradual hearing loss, then you can assume it is due to old age. If you have been diagnosed with diabetes and you are younger, it could be related. Where do you turn?


Audiologists or Hearing Aid Practitioners are professionals that are specially trained for testing your hearing. They can determine whether you need to see a doctor because of your hearing loss, in the case it might be a medically related problem. An Audiologist is a doctorate level professional who is trained to diagnose auditory disorders, such as tinnitus
and can interpret testing results from VNGs and ABRs.

Treatments for Hearing Loss

There are some people that wonder whether there are medicines to help hearing loss. It can depend on the circumstances and type of hearing loss that you have, but conductive hearing losses can sometimes be treated with surgery and medications. Usually, the reason for conductive hearing loss is due to the physical components involved with hearing. If something is wrong with this delicate chain of components, you will experience hearing problems.


Things like middle ear infections, ruptured eardrums and other infections or deterioration of the bones can be remedied with medications and sometimes, surgical procedures might be needed. Even some hearing loss due to sudden nerve loss can be treated with steroids in certain cases and when treated as soon as possible to prevent further damage or deterioration of the nerves, which are crucial to the hearing process.

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.

Understanding Hearing Loss

Many people that start looking for Audiologists or Hearing Aid Practitioners to help them with their hearing problem might be doing it reluctantly. By the time they admit they might have hearing loss, they have probably gone through several months of not hearing correctly and maybe longer. Of course, there is birth defect hearing loss, but many people start experiencing hearing loss because of long exposure to excessive noise levels, or single incidences of an extremely loud noise. The most common hearing loss comes as we age, however.


Many adults are unwilling to acknowledge it is time to go see Audiologists, but yet they will go get glasses when their eyesight starts to go. Of course, glasses can be more affordable than getting hearing aids because today's hearing aids are like miniature computers, but there are affordable models that start at around $1,000 per ear and there are payments available.

Hearing 101