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When buying hearing aids: 6 essential things to know
Being an informed health care consumer
is hard work. Th ere is information
everywhere. But how do you sift through
it and make sense of it all? And how do
you know what is reliable and what isn’t?
Sorting through the noise when buying
hearing aids is no exception.
In the past several months, there has
been signifi cant media coverage and
social media discussion about the Overthe
Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017,
which will make certain types of hearing
aids available over the counter in the next
several years. At the same time, there are
many advertisements about devices called
Personal Sound Amplifi cation Products
(PSAPs) - which are not hearing aids and
are not designed to treat hearing loss -
adding to the confusion.
To help consumers cut through the
clutter, the Better Hearing Institute (BHI)
has pulled together six essential facts for
people with hearing loss who are considering
the purchase of hearing aids.
BHI recommends that anyone who is
ready to address their hearing loss keep
these six points in mind:
1) Addressing hearing loss promptly
and appropriately is important for health
and quality of life. Research shows that
hearing loss is linked to cognitive decline
and dementia, depression, an increased
risk of falls and hospitalization, and greater
health care costs. Hearing loss also is
linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes,
moderate chronic kidney disease, obesity,
sleep apnea and rheumatoid arthritis,
studies show.
2) Hearing loss is not a simple mechanical
issue and cannot be remedied as easily
as buying a pair of reader glasses at the
grocery store. Hearing loss is a complex
sensory loss. It involves brain function
and frequency losses specifi c to the individual.
Human hearing involves a multifaceted
interplay between specifi c parts of
the ears and brain. For this reason, hearing
aids - which are designed specifi cally
to compensate for hearing loss - must
be cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) to ensure safety
and effi cacy.
3) Hearing aids need to be custom-fi tted
and programmed specifi cally for the
individual so they correctly address those
specifi c frequencies the individual has
trouble hearing. Th e beauty of authentic
hearing aids is that they’re tailored -
through personalized fi tting, programming
and follow-up adjustments - to
correctly address those specifi c frequencies
the individual has trouble hearing.
Th is gives the wearer the greatest benefi
t and ensures that the level of amplifi cation
is appropriate across the entire frequency
spectrum. Follow-up hearing aid
adjustments, along with training to help
consumers adjust to amplifi cation and
re-learn how to hear and process sounds
they had been missing, further increase
user satisfaction.
4) Personal sound amplifi ers (PSAPs)
are not hearing aids and are not cleared by
the FDA to treat hearing loss. Consumers
need to be careful not to confuse hearing
aids with PSAPs, which simply turn
up the volume - sometimes to dangerously
high decibel levels - regardless of the
individual’s specifi c hearing needs. Overamplifying
in this way may put the consumer
at risk of greater hearing damage.
5) Seeing a hearing care professional
is the best safety net for proper diagnosis
and treatment. Going to a hearing
care professional helps ensure that any
underlying medical issue behind a hearing
loss is identifi ed and addressed. It
also helps ensure that the person’s hearing
loss is safely and eff ectively treated.
Hearing care professionals - audiologists,
hearing aid specialists and ENTs
(Ear, Nose and Th roat doctors or doctors
of otology and otolaryngology) - are best
suited to help consumers with hearing
loss. Audiologists and hearing aid specialists
are expressly trained in all aspects of
hearing aids and amplifi cation, and they
Expires 6/30/18 Post & Crown Additional. Expires 6/30/18
are state-licensed. Many work in practices
with ENT doctors. Th ey have the most
appropriate and accurate equipment to
give a precise read of an individual’s current
hearing level. Involving a hearing
health care professional also means the
consumer gets maximum benefi t from
their hearing aids.
6) Currently, hearing aids are only sold
by licensed hearing care professionals.
Today, real hearing aids cannot be purchased
in the U.S. without the involvement
of a licensed hearing care professional.
Th e way hearing aids are sold,
however, will change in a few years due
to the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid
Act of 2017, which was signed into law in
August 2017. Nevertheless, the complex
nature of hearing loss will not change.
Th e safest thing consumers can do for
their hearing is to seek professional hearing
health care advice from the start.
BHI urges consumers with hearing loss
to remain encouraged. Most people with
hearing loss can benefi t from custom-fi tted
and programmed hearing aids. In fact,
91 percent of people who purchased hearing
aids in the last year say they are happy
with their purchase, and 90 percent say
they would recommend getting hearing
aids to family members and friends, BHI
research shows.
For information on types of hearing
loss, visit http://www.betterhearing.org/
news/heres-what-you-need-know-aboutdiff
erent-types-hearing-loss.
Courtesy BPT