Choosing a new hearing aids is not easy, especially if it’s your first time. You have to decide between different parameters: sizes, shapes, colors and technology levels. The most important thing to remember is your personal hearing loss, which can be defined from very mild to severe. What is the next step? What do you want your personal hearing aid to do and what should it look like?
What will hearing aid look like?
According to the World Health Organization , 466 million people are affected by hearing problems. While some are proud to show their hearing aid, others prefer it not to be seen. Everything is a question of temperament! As with any worn item, it’s up to you to choose your hearing aid style, color, and size (based on your hearing loss). So take the time to think about these aspects.
Do you usually go out often or do you stay at home?
Do you prefer to spend the evening in a restaurant or in front of a TV show? Lifestyles can be so different, this is why hearing aids can be so. If you enjoy going out, you will be confronted with external sound environments, sources of difficulty to understand the conversations. Be sure to check that the hearing aid used reduces background noise and improves speech perception. This will not be as important if you stay at home, read quietly or chat with a friend over a cup of tea.
Do I want to see music or TV directly in my hearing aids?
If you’re a proven user of your smartphone, chances are you’re enjoying Bluetooth-compliant hearing aids for connectivity. Several hearing solutions now offer 2.4GHz Bluetooth connectivity (MFI) that allows you to connect your iOS product (Apple products) directly to your hearing aids. A streaming solution from Android smartphones is being developed, with the expectation of availability in 2019. Until then, you will need to use a listening aid to stream from your android smartphone or TV and radio. So you can control the audio streaming from your phone if you have 2.4GHz connectivity.
Do I want to control my hearing aids from my smartphone?
Hearing aids today have so many features besides amplifying the sound. If you install apps on your smartphone, they’ll help you customize your listening experience through AI, or track your activity level, for example. This type of functionality is commonly used on smartphone. So if you have a cell phone, you will be able to benefit from automatic sound functions, which remain specific to each hearing aid.
Will it be difficult for me to hear weak sounds?
For most of us, it’s not difficult to hear loud sounds, while faint sounds such as chirping birds, the crinkling of a newspaper and maybe even the faint voices of young children will seem to us even more attenuated in the case of hearing loss. They can even disappear completely from our auditory field! You risk forgetting them and there, there is no doubt, you need an effective hearing aid for low ambient sounds.
What is my professional environment?
It is very different to work on a construction site, in a theater or in an office. That said, your office can also be particularly noisy! Think about the nature of your work environment: Do you need a hearing aid that effectively reduces the annoying background noise? Who captures weak sounds or has good acoustics in large rooms?
Where do I need to hear better?
Are you a sportsman or do you give yourself long periods of reading, go to your places of worship or do you sail on the high seas? Regardless of your listening priority, be sure to collect them with your hearing aid. Some hearing aids will offer ideal features for the sport, others could be more successful for concerts. And some hearing solutions can do almost anything! Just make sure your new hearing aids bring you what you expect in your favorite moments.
Where do I start?
If you have not had a hearing test yet, we suggest you do it. Start with a quick and free online test. If you have a hearing loss, a hearing professional can help you answer your questions and find the best solution for you.
