4 Ways to Make Sure You’re Happy with Your Hearing Aids

Hearing aids are an investment in your hearing health you’ll be spending a lot of quality time with: they’re worn up to 16 hours a day, every day, and have an average lifespan of 5 to 7 years. Keeping this in mind, it’s important to choose hearing aids you’ll be both comfortable and satisfied with. Follow these four guidelines to improve your success at finding hearing aids you’ll be happy with for years to come. 

1. Find the right audiologist

Few people know hearing aids like audiologists. Not only are they familiar with the latest models of hearing aids and their features, but they also know which devices are best suited to your type and degree of hearing loss. An audiologist will make unbiased hearing aid recommendations based on your hearing evaluation results. 

2. Do your own research

Despite the help a good hearing health provider can offer you, it’s still important to do your own research and get familiar with your hearing loss diagnosis and what types of hearing aids and features might be best for you. Research can help you make important distinctions between similar hearing aids and determine your priorities in a hearing device.

3. Ask for a demo

Just as you would take a car for a test drive before signing the paperwork, it’s important to test drive your hearing aids to make sure they meet your expectations in the test of everyday life. Many audiologists will offer this service, but if not, ask for it. It’s common to be given a few weeks or even a month to try a set of hearing aids out before purchasing your own. While you’re testing out the hearing aids, be sure to us them at different times of day and in different environments to see how various settings perform, and take notes of your experiences.

4. Take your time

Finally, don’t let a vendor, doctor, or anyone else rush you into deciding on hearing aids before you’re confident about your choice. It’s important to choose hearing aids you’re completely satisfied with, so don’t settle for something that’s not exactly what you need. Taking your time also isn’t the same as stalling or putting the decision off – even if you take some time to make a decision about hearing aids, you should still be actively researching, testing them out, and discussing with your audiologist.

Your hearing aids will be with you for years to come, so taking care to make the right choice will mean lasting satisfaction with their performance and overall benefits to your hearing and lifestyle.