Hearing Aids – FAQ

Make Sure You Know What You are Doing and that You Get the Best Hearing Aids for You or Your Loved One

1.) What is an audiologist?
An audiologist is a licensed professional who specializes in the evaluation of hearing and the rehabilitation of hearing loss. Audiologists hold graduate degrees in this field and have studied anywhere from five to seven years to obtain this advanced degree.

2.) Do I have to go to an audiologist, or can I rely on a hearing aid dispenser company or perhaps someone else to evaluate my ears, my hearing loss and to tell me what hearing aid solution is best for me?
This is up to you, but we recommend seeking out the professional advice of a trained professional. Remember, these are your ears and should be trusted only to a professional trained in this field. However, this said, many Hearing Instrument Specialists (HIS) also test and conduct procedures as an audiologist does and HIS are required to pass a National Board Certification exam, just as does an audiologist.

3.) What can I expect when ordering online?
You can expect better pricing, in many cases, supported by a wealth of information that you may find you need as you make your decision about your hearing aid. Of course, you will still need to see a trained professional (audiologist of HIS) to have your hearing test and evaluation performed. In most cases, ordering on the Web allows the hearing aids to get to you a bit quicker, with most sites even offering toll-free customer service lines.

4.) Can I program my hearing aid myself?
This is a possibility, but one we do not recommend, for it is best to find a local service center upfront. That way, if the programming isn’t exactly right, and this may take a few tries, you have the help of a trained professional to rely on every step of the way.

5.) What do hearing aids cost?
You can expect hearings aids to cost anywhere between $600 and $2500.

6.) What are the most important features that I should seek out when looking for a hearing aid?
These include multiple microphones (which improve speech understanding in noisy environments); 100% digital technology that “reacts” quick enough to turn the volume up for crucial speech sounds and turns it down for those sounds that are consider background-type sounds; multiple programs so that you can change the manner in which the hearing aid processes sounds as you move from one environment to the other; and more than one processing channel so the amplification can be better tailored to your specific hearing loss.