HEARING AIDS

Is your hearing loss holding you back?  Is your work starting to suffer, are your relationships strained?  Are you starting to enjoy social situations less because it is frustrating to try to hear in restaurants and groups?  Hearing aids may be useful in making sure you are getting the most out of life.  How much easier would it be if you could strain less to understand conversation, and instead be a part of the action?

Hearing aids are not what you might remember from years ago.  They used to be large, bulky, frequently whistled or squealed, and often made hearing in noisy situations more difficult, not easier.  Most people want more out of hearing aids.

Hearing aids today generally look very good.  Mini behind the ear hearing aids are barely noticeable and they generally sound the best for mild to moderate hearing loss.  What makes a successful hearing aid fitting?  We will work to make sure your new hearing aids provide the following:

• Cosmetics you feel good about
• Improved speech understanding, even in moderately noisy environments like the car and in restaurants
• Easier communication at a distance including across the room, in a classroom, or a lecture settingLittle to no whistling, squealing, or feedback
• Comfort that allows you to wear them most waking hours of the day without thinking much about them
• Improved quality of life
• Soft speech should be audible, conversational speech should be comfortable, loud speech should be tolerable

For some patients, we may recommend supplemental devices in addition to the hearing aids.  If you have a particularly difficult time with either telephone or television, you may benefit from a device that allow your phone or TV to wirelessly transmit directly to your hearing aids.  This technology can make a world of difference, be sure to ask about it, especially if hearing aids are not enough for these situations.

The decision to get hearing aids is very personal.  It is often something you will probably think about for a long time before taking action.  Once you do make the decision to move forward, the process of fitting and programming hearing aids is custom tailored to you.  This is not something that can be purchased “off the rack” and for you to expect optimum results.  In fact in almost all states it is actually illegal to purchase hearing aids through the mail.  These laws are in place because if the hearing aids are in appropriately set, you can actually make your hearing loss worse!  For most people, getting new hearing aids will involve 3-5 in-office appointments in the first several weeks.  After that you can expect to have routine check ups every 6-12 months to ensure your hearing aids are working at their peak efficiency.

We work with almost all major brands of hearing aids.  To hear more, call us at (503) 928-4327 for an appointment or with your questions.

WHAT DO HEARING AIDS COST?

We often phone calls asking “How much would hearing aids cost?”  That is almost like asking how much would a car cost before you have decided what kind of car you want to buy.  Prices vary by model of hearing aid, and change all the time as technology changes.  Here is a short video that talks about major price categories as of 2011 at our clinic.  It will at least give you an idea what hearing aids would commonly cost.  Included with most hearing aids is a 2 year service package covering all needed adjustments and repairs and even loss and damage insurance.  These prices mahy also be reduced if you have insurance coverage for your new hearing aids.  Your exact cost would depend on what hearing aid you ultimately selected based on your individual needs and goals.