After you take a hearing test that reveals a degree of hearing loss, your provider will walk you through your different treatment options. In most cases, we’ll recommend hearing aids to manage the condition and lessen its impact on your life.
Let’s look at two factors your hearing care specialist will consider when making their hearing aid recommendation.
1. The Degree of Hearing Loss
Your test will tell us how advanced your hearing loss is, on a scale from mild to profound, in decibels (dB). The scale categories include:
- Mild: 26 to 40 dB
- Moderate: 41 to 55 dB
- Moderately severe: 56 to 70 dB
- Severe: 71 to 90 dB
- Profound: 91+ dB
The hearing aid styles available to you will depend on the severity of your hearing loss. Smaller hearing aids, such as in-the-ear, in-the-canal and completely-in-the-canal devices, will work for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. Larger models, like behind-the-ear and receiver-in-the-canal devices, will accommodate hearing loss of any degree.
When you have profound hearing loss, a hearing aid won’t be able to bring all noises back, but they can help improve your background awareness by making louder sounds, like sirens, more noticeable.
2. Your Lifestyle
After determining which hearing aid styles can accommodate your hearing loss, we’ll ask about your lifestyle to identify which devices best suit your daily needs. A few things that we’ll take into account include:
- Noise exposure. If you spend a lot of time in meetings or busy Ft. Wayne restaurants, we may recommend devices with advanced background noise suppression.
- Tinnitus. If you have tinnitus alongside your hearing loss, a device with a tinnitus-masking feature can be helpful.
- Exercise. If you enjoy swimming or exercises that make you sweat a lot, waterproof or water-resistant devices will be helpful.
- Work. Many new devices have rechargeable hearing aids that you charge nightly. They’re helpful for people with dexterity issues who have trouble changing batteries regularly. However, people who work long shifts or don’t always have the option to charge their devices may prefer options with disposable batteries.
We’re here to ensure your hearing aid journey is as smooth and easy as possible, and that starts with an expert recommendation. Contact Ear, Nose and Throat Associates to schedule a hearing test or treatment consultation with one of our specialists.
Sources
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Type, degree, and configuration of hearing loss [PDF]. https://www.asha.org/siteassets/ais/ais-type-degree-and-configuration-of-hearing-loss.pdf