There are six major hearing aid manufacturers, and they all make quality products. Each manufacturer approaches how they process sound slightly differently in terms of how they manage background noise, adapt for the environment and process speech. They also all have differences in how they connect to Bluetooth, what you can control through their apps, and special features they may include.
Each manufacturer offers hearing aids in all the styles including in-the-ear hearing aids (very small to full size), Behind-the-ear and Receiver in the canal aids.
They also offer multiple levels of technology in each of the styles.
When we choose a hearing aid for one of our patients, we look at multiple factors including:
- Degree of hearing loss
- Configuration (which frequencies are affected) of your hearing loss.
- How well your brain can process speech if it is loud enough to be heard.
- Do you have tinnitus (ringing in your ears) that requires attention?
- If connecting to a cellphone or other device, we also look at the make of the phone and compatibility with the patient’s specific cellphone.
During an evaluation we look at all the above factors as well as other issues, such as dexterity issues which may impact the patient’s ability to insert and remove aids, comfort, use controls, etc. So that our patients can experience for themselves how improved hearing can positively improve their ability to hear and understand in their daily life, we program a pair of hearing aids for them during their appointment for them to try on and listen to.
Karen Lemme, Au.D.
