Hearing Aid Tips – Your Questions Finally Answered

Yes. In fact, a 2007 survey of hearing specialists found that nearly 60% of tinnitus clients experienced some tinnitus relief when wearing hearing aids, while nearly 25% found significant relief. Tinnitus is also often associated with hearing loss, so if you have ringing in your ears you should schedule a test with us to see if hearing aids would help.

While there are a few reasons why your hearing aids might get feedback, the good news is that they are all corrected fairly easily. Here are some common reasons for feedback in your hearing aids and what you can do to stop it:

• Contact – A quick burst of feedback is usually due to bumping your hearing aid with your phone or maybe knocking it out of place when giving someone a hug. Other times it could be because of a hat or scarf getting in the way of the sound waves that travel into your ear. A quick readjustment should get your hearing aid back to normal.
• High volume – The louder you turn up your hearing aids, the more likely you are to experience feedback. If you keep finding yourself in situations where your volume is turned all the way up, you may want to make an appointment to make sure it doesn’t need to be adjusted.
• Fit – Feedback is common if your hearing aids do not fit your ears perfectly. A quick and simple solution is to take them out and reinsert them so they fit snugly inside your ear. If that doesn’t work, come back in and we’ll help you adjust it.

Yes, a hearing aid adjustment or reprogramming can be done easily. Just come on in and see us. Many newer models can have multiple settings for different hearing environments.

Research is limited. However, there have been a few studies that indicate enhanced hearing does help to improve the balance of people who suffer from hearing loss. The study showed that clients performed better on a series of balance tests while they had their hearing aids turned on and performed worse on the same tests while they were off.

Hearing aids are technological tools, and just like computers or smartphones, there might be occasions when they stop working correctly. Many of these situations are easily fixable, such as a low battery. Every hearing aid runs on a battery. Most hearing aid batteries will last days, but this will depend on the features you’re using on a daily basis. Even rechargeable batteries eventually need to be replaced. A low battery can cause issues such as poor sound quality, weak sounds, and hearing aids that won’t turn on. In other cases, your hearing aids may have to be cleaned. Dirty hearing aids can cause feedback, muffled sounds, and even discomfort. A regular cleaning routine and yearly professional cleanings can get your hearing aids back to normal.

Most hearing aids are compatible with iPhones and other smartphones. Any hearing aid that has Bluetooth connectivity capabilities can be paired with a smartphone, while there are several apps on the market that can give you even more control over your hearing aids. In addition, certain hearing aid brands are developed to work directly with iPhones and smartphones. These hearing aids can bypass the apps and give the user the ability to make true “hands-free” phone calls, as well as enjoy stereo streaming of music and TV shows. These direct connection hearing aids also do not require a separate Bluetooth device to connect with your phone, which is a requirement for some other models. Come on in and we’ll demonstrate the technology to you.

No, however there are hearing aids that are water resistant. That means that while you can’t leave your hearing aids in when you go swimming, you don’t have to worry too much if you forget to take them out in the shower or get caught in a rain storm. Keep in mind though that all hearing aids work the best under optimal conditions, which is when they’re clean and dry. Excessive water or moisture can cause damage to the electronic components inside of the hearing aids and also cause bacteria to grow on the outside, which can lead to health problems. There are a few steps you can take to keep your hearing aids dry and clean after they’ve been exposed to water, such as using a dehumidifier to remove moisture and storing your hearing aids in a dry place at night.

Sticking to a routine of cleaning your hearing aids daily, monthly, and yearly should help you get the best results. First, you should wipe your hearing aids down and be sure to place them in their case each night before bed to protect them from humidity and pets. Beyond that, you should make sure to clean your hearing aids once per month using the techniques we’ve taught you. You should also consider coming in once a year to have your hearing aids professionally cleaned and get your hearing checked to ensure that your current hearing aids are still appropriate for your situation.

Batteries have an expiration date, so you should always try to buy the newest pack of batteries you can find, as well as use up your older batteries first to ensure you get the most life out of them. Many hearing aid batteries are powered by zinc, so you should be aware of the handling and storage instructions concerning zinc. For instance, once you pull the activation tab on zinc batteries, they will begin to drain. However, if you wait five minutes after pulling the tab before popping them in your hearing aids, you could get up to three more days of life out of them. Be sure to remove batteries from your hearing aids when they’re not in use and keep them in a clean, dry place (not the freezer – this will actually drain the batteries faster).

We encourage you to avoid throwing out your old hearing aids once you no longer have any use for them. Instead, one of the best things you can do with used hearing aids is to donate them to a worthy cause. Donated hearing aids are collected by organizations like the Lions Club International and the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Once collected, the hearing aids are refurbished and then given to people suffering from hearing loss who otherwise could not get a pair of hearing aids on their own. In addition to helping the less fortunate, you could also qualify for a tax write off by donating your hearing aids.

Because you are worth it.

Your hearing is one of your most critical senses, and the only sense that can be improved via digitally-adjusted computer circuits.  The devices you need require not only a good fit physically with your ears but a precise match of electroacoustical settings with your unique auditory needs.

To some extent, yes, but at JC Audiology the key difference is that you’ll have an experienced audiologist testing your hearing (in an annually calibrated sound-treated booth for most accurate testing and fitting protocols), and an audiologist providing you with recommendations, and an audiologist doing the actual fitting of the devices and an audiologist doing all the follow up and adjustments you may need as you adjust to your hearing devices.  Most big box stores do not have an experienced audiologist with decades of hearing aid dispensing success and thousands of satisfied patients.

Yes, and that’s another big difference we have at JC Audiology over other dispensers.  Hearing aids are essentially miniature computers, and yet they take more abuse than most of the computerized devices you own, due to body temperature, skin oils, ear wax and moisture related issues (electronics and moisture aren’t the best of friends).  We service more than 150 hearing aids every month at JC Audiology, with nearly every one being back in use in one day.  There are about a dozen hearing devices that come into the JC Audiology Hearing Aid Hospital every month that aren’t working at all, and we revive more than 90% of them.  That same-day service for hearing aids is unheard of in big box stores, many franchises, and is non-existent with companies or individuals who sell over the internet.

Compared to some other electronic devices you may own, hearing aids compare favorably considering the hours of usage of each device.  The average monthly cell phone bill can add up to much more than what your hearing aids would cost over the same period of time.

There are multiple reasons but the key thing to keep in mind is that the price advertised can often be misleading.  Some dispensers sell hearing aids in an ‘unbundled’ way, meaning the devices are one cost and then any servicing, repairs or other maintenance would incur additional costs.  Other dispensers include in the price of their hearing devices the total costs that would cover all services, adjustments and periodic clean and checks of the devices.  It has been our experience at JC Audiology that patients are most satisfied and have the best long term outcomes with this latter approach.

There may also be an issue because some companies advertise a price that may be very low.  However, that price is really for a device that is for someone with a very mild hearing loss for which the hearing aid is basically an amplifier with little or no other features.  A more moderate hearing loss requires more sophisticated devices and more careful, professional calibrations so that the hearing device best matches your unique hearing characteristics.  And, with hearing aids now compatible to smartphones, TV streaming devices, and other accessories, the prices for them are never the low figure you see in corporate ads.

The average person waits seven years after the onset of hearing loss before getting a hearing test. Hearing loss can have a large impact on a person’s quality of life.  And, on those loved ones around you who may have mentioned to you that they have to repeat themselves to you, or that the TV volume you prefer is too loud.  A comprehensive hearing test will determine if there is a hearing loss that should be treated with hearing aids.

About 48 million Americans have hearing loss, mostly as a result of living full and active lives in all types of noisy environments.  While it may seem unpleasant to admit another age-related malady, it’s best not to ignore the decline in hearing due to cascading cognitive declines associated with untreated hearing loss.  The good news is that hearing aids can boost brain function.  The Journal of American Geriatrics Society published a study that found that the rate of cognitive decline slowed after participants started wearing hearing aids.  Another study by the University of Maryland said that hearing aids boost brain function, citing two groups of individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss who were tracked for six months.  Most of the hearing aid users showed improvement in working memory and neural speech processing, and a greater ease of listening. These recent studies follow other published research of the past couple of years in which hearing loss was linked to other health and social problems, such as falls, depression and increased financial burden.  A study published in the JAMA Otolaryngology journal in November 2018 said that health-care costs for those with untreated hearing loss are 46% higher over a decade than for those without hearing loss, in part due to increased hospitalizations.  Healthy hearing leads to a healthy life!

That’s where a good audiologist will help.  We have successfully fit hearing aids on people from all walks of life, who have a variety of hearing losses, and we have close relationships with a number of hearing aid manufacturers, and take continuing education courses from the best in the field of audiology. Most importantly, we thrive on providing every patient with the best service possible.  We can answer all these questions and more during your initial consultation with our audiologist, which we are pleased to provide at no charge to you.