When should I upgrade my hearing aids?
This is a frequent question we hear from our patients, and the answer demands some thought. Although hearing aids normally have a life-span of 3-7 years, there are a few scenarios in which you may want to upgrade sooner.
Here are 4 reasons you may want to consider an upgrade.
1. Your hearing aids are no longer functioning well
If your hearing aids are not working as effectively as they once did, the first thing to consider is cleaning or repair.
Hearing aids are subjected to earwax, moisture, and other debris, so your hearing aids may simply require a cleaning. In other cases, the electronics within the hearing aids need repair, but otherwise the hearing aids remain effective.
If your hearing aids are damaged beyond repair, on the other hand, or if they are past their natural life-span, you may want to upgrade to a new pair.
2. Your hearing requirements are not being met
Let’s say you secure a new job that necessitates a lot of speaking on the phone, which has consistently been a challenge for you with your present hearing aids. You learn about a new type of hearing aid that can stream calls wirelessly from your iPhone directly to your hearing aids, resulting in clear sound that you can quickly fine-tune. In this situation, you may want to upgrade your hearing aids to provide for your new hearing requirements.
It’s a smart idea to put together a list of all the circumstances in which your existing hearing aids are not functioning to your liking. Then, by talking with a hearing specialist, you can discover the hearing aids that can better satisfy your requirements.
3. Your hearing has changed
Hearing can and does change over time, and it’s a possibility that your current hearing aids, while sufficient at first, are now not capable of handling your hearing loss. If this is the situation, you will need a new hearing test and a new pair of hearing aids programmed to complement your hearing loss.
4. You want to take advantage of cutting edge technology
Hearing aid technology is improving rapidly; just 10 years ago it would have sounded like science fiction to expect that you could stream music wirelessly from your iPod to your hearing aids. Each year, remarkable new functionality is added to new hearing aid models, and you may find that you’d like to reap the benefits of the new technology.
As an example, maybe you just purchased a new Apple Watch and you learned that some of the new hearing aid models are compatible. If you wish to control your hearing aids with the watch, you would need to upgrade to a compatible model.
The decision to upgrade your hearing aids basically comes down to answering two questions:
- Are my current hearing aids meeting all of my listening needs?
- Is there new technology or functionality that I would like to benefit from?
Hearing aid technology is evolving quickly, and many of our patients are surprised to discover what the new hearing aid models are capable of. And the truth is, you can’t really answer the second question without knowing what’s available.
If you would like to learn about what some of your options are, give us a call today and we’ll explain to you all the available technology and how it could make your life better and easier. You might be surprised at what you discover.