Because, how do you know what to look out for when buying a hearing aid? How do you ensure that you actually buy the best hearing aid for your living situation. It would be very annoying that points that are important to you are not discussed. For that reason, we advise you in this article about “the 7 most important questions” that you can ask the hearing care professional. Asking the right questions will ultimately ensure that you can make an appointment without any uncertainty or buy the very best hearing aid yourself and that you will be 100% behind it.
The 7 questions you can ask the hearing care professional:
- Do I have to take into account an adjustment period?
- Can this hearing aid adapt to different listening situations?
- I often suffer from ear infections and / or other discomforts, should I take this into account
- when choosing a hearing aid?
- Is there a hearing aid for ringing in the ears?
- How should I maintain my hearing aid?
1: Do I have to take into account an adjustment period?
When you start wearing a hearing aid, all sounds will sound different. The sound around you will be amplified, and you won’t even be able to identify certain tones at first. The sound of your own voice will also sound different. Don’t underestimate the change. After all, a hearing loss has built up over a period of years … and then you get sound back from one moment to the next. You will notice that in the beginning it is also a bit of a search for how to use your own voice again. Handy to pay attention to this with the hearing care professional.
2: Can a hearing aid adapt to different listening situations?
If you are going to buy a hearing aid, it is important, among other things, what your living situation looks like. Do you have a busy life, are you a social person and do you often experience noisy environments? Very interesting for you to know whether a hearing aid can distinguish the noise from the sounds that really matter. Noise from crockery, paper… buzz, all noises that can disturb you when you are talking to someone. The more advanced the hearing aid is, the better you can follow the conversation without being bothered by all the disturbing noises around it. Suppose you have a lot of outdoor activities, then it is of course so nice that the hearing aid has a kind of wind noise suppressor! A good wind noise blocker ensures that you can hear the birds whistling, without the eastern wind racing through it! It is therefore very important for the hearing care professional to know which situations are common for you and what your activities are in daily life. Below are some examples:
- Hobby: singing or making music
- concerts
- Visiting lectures / giving presentations
- companionship / busy situations
- your life takes place mainly in the open air
- meetings are your daily routine
- mobile phone calls are part of your job
3: I often suffer from ear infections and / or other discomforts, should I take this into account when choosing a hearing aid?
There are many different models of hearing aids on the market. Hearing aids where you wear a small cap in your ear that contains all the electronics. Hearing aids behind the ear with a lead to your ear canal with a universal umbrella attached to it.
All information about your hearing / but also medical information is important for the hearing care professional.If you have had a lot of ear infections in the past and are sometimes still sensitive to this, it is extremely important that you wear a hearing aid that includes your ear canal remains as open as possible. A hearing aid that disappears completely into your ear canal, with the electronics in your ear, is not so sensible in that case!
See below which medical information is important for the hearing care professional:
- Have you ever had ear infections?
- Does irritation quickly develop in your ear canal?
- Do you often have flakes in your ear canal?
- Is your skin sensitive to certain materials?
4: Is there a hearing aid against my ringing in the ears?
If you suffer from ringing in the ears, it is nice to be properly informed by the hearing care professional whether there may be a hearing aid that can ensure that you will suffer less from your ringing in the ears, also called tinnitus. Would you like more information about tinnitus? View our tinnitus page.
Clearly ask the hearing care professional your questions about ringing in the ears and hearing aids, such as:
- Are there hearing aids that reduce my ringing in the ears
- Is there a hearing aid that I can leave in at night, so that I have less problems with the tinnitus
5: How should I maintain my hearing aid?
A hearing aid should be in or behind your ear all day long. Through wind and weather, sports, parties, you wear the hearing aid full time. Just like glasses, for example, you should clean the hearing aid from time to time. Each type of hearing aid requires a different way of maintenance.
- If you are good at handling small stuff, if you manage to replace a small filter, then you can work fine with a receiver in the ear hearing aid.
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An example of a receiver in the ear hearing aid is the Widex Evoke 440 . We also show a video how to replace such a filter, for example. Which is often the most important part of cleaning.
If your hearing loss is a bit more severe, and you need a little more sealing in the ear canal, then you might be better off wearing a hearing aid behind the ear + a custom-made earmold.
For example, a behind-the-ear hearing aid is the Phonak Bolero b50 sp
- Finally, there is also a hearing aid that does not require maintenance! This is the Phonak Lyric . You wear this beautiful hearing aid in your ear full-time, 24/7!
6: Are there any rechargeable hearing aids?
There are hearing aids on the market that are rechargeable. Very nice of course because you never need batteries again and you always have a hearing aid that is charged! These devices are also less vulnerable. Therefore, be sure to ask the hearing care professional whether this is also possible for you.
7: Is there an invisible hearing aid?
If the cosmetic aspect is very important to you, you will have to let the hearing care professional know the urgency of this! This way, the hearing care professional can show you that there is certainly a hearing aid that you really cannot see. This device disappears into your ear canal and stays there day and night, for about 2 and a half months. There are of course important points to go through with your hearing care professional;
- Is it possible with your ear canal
- Is your ear canal not too narrow
- If your biggest hobby is diving, then the Lyric is not wise.
All these questions above will ultimately help you choose the best hearing aid! If you still run into something during the search, or if you still have doubts … then you can always use the Chat service on our site !! Our chat service is available daily until 10 p.m. On the other side of the chat, an experienced hearing care professional is always able to speak to you and help you with the questions you have. This link refers you to the chat, and / or the possibility to ask questions via whatsapp. It is of course also possible to contact us.
We hope that with all this information we have removed any doubts from you so that you can make the right choice with confidence! Good luck in buying the most suitable hearing aid that meets all your wishes and needs!