Julie Christensen, M.S., CCC-A
Boys Town Hearing and Balance Center

You probably know someone who purchased hearing aids but doesn’t wear them. Maybe you are one of the many Americans who keep your hearing aids in the dresser drawer instead of in your ears. Fit properly, hearing aids can be life-changing, allowing people to enjoy social interactions again. In the past five years alone, hearing aid technology has dramatically improved. Many people report that sounds seem more natural and that their ability to hear in background noise is better (although never perfect). Today’s hearing aids have more options for connecting to your home phone, your cell phone and your television. But hearing aids are costly and most insurance doesn’t cover them, so it pays to be a smart consumer. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your hearing aids:

1. Real Ear/Probe Tube Microphone Measurements. Find a professional who does real ear measurements. This is a critical test to verify that the hearing aids are amplifying conversational speech appropriately in your ears. Just hooking the hearing aids up to the computer to program them is not enough. Until the hearing aids are evaluated while in your ears, we are just guessing about how well they are set.
2. Have realistic expectations. Hearing aids do much better in groups and in noise than they used to, but they still don’t restore your hearing back to normal. Some companies make claims that “digital” hearing aids fix the noise problem. Common sense will tell you that, if there truly were a hearing aid that got rid of all background noise, it would be the ONLY hearing aid on the market, right?
3. Trial period. Make sure your audiologist has a trial period (usually 30 days). There is usually a return fee (we charge $125/ear). The return fee insures that the audiologist’s time is paid for, so don’t feel bad about returning the hearing aids if they aren’t helping you.
4. Read the fine print. If you sign a contract, read it carefully. Take it home to review before you sign. Just because someone tells you the hearing aids can be returned doesn’t mean you aren’t signing that right away in your contract.

Being a smart consumer will help insure that you make the right choices about hearing aids. Hearing well helps you, your family, friends and co-workers. When you consider quality of life issues, the benefits given by hearing aids are exponential.