Dont Buy a Hearing Aid Until you ask The Following Questions

Buying a Hearing Aid can be very expensive, especially if you get it wrong.. therefore it is vitally important that you consider all the factors associated with your hearing loss before making the final commitment.
One of the first steps to be taken is to have a hearing test. This is most important as it will determine what level of hearing loss you have and at what audio frequencies it is most apparent. The hearing test is usually carried out by an Audiologist and he will produce a graph of your hearing responses. This will tell you if you have mild or severe hearing loss and if you have low or high frequency problems.
The second question that you should consider is what type of lifestyle you have. This is most important as an elderly person who wants to hear talking and listen to the radio or television has a very different lifestyle to a young executive type or somebody who loves music. Although the hearing loss measured by the Audiologist may be exactly the same for these different people, the Hearing Aid would have to be programmed quite differently
. Next you have to question what type of Hearing Aid will suit you best. There are a number of styles including ‘Behind the Ear‘ ‘In the Ear‘, ‘In the Ear Channel` an `Completely in the Channel.` Factors that could decide which type of Hearing Aid is most suitable are the degree of hearing loss the sufferer has. Do they mind if it can be seen, are they able to manage the very tiny Completely in the Channel type. If a person has arthritis if would be very difficult to insert the very tiny Hearing Aid into the ear channel so they would have to have a Behind the Ear Hearing Aid, whereas a young executive may want the Aid to be as inconspicuous as possible so a Behind the Ear type would not be suitable. However modern Behind the Ear Hearing Aids are now being made much smaller and therefore less conspicuous.
Another major factor must be the cost of the Hearing Aid. Generally speaking the higher the cost the more advanced is the Hearing Aid. Hearing Aids are available for just a few pounds, these are called Analogue Hearing Aids. Analogue Aids generally amplify all sounds they receive equally although if you are willing to pay extra they can be made with volume controls to help differentiate between high frequency and low frequency sounds.
Digital Hearing Aids are much more expensive as they have much more complicated electronics in them. This allows the Digital Hearing Aid to be programmed in greater detail, so that every specific hearing loss can be rectified. The cost of these Hearing Aids is usually in the hundreds of pounds
Depending on what you can afford will also determine the type of Hearing Aid that is most suitable. Another factor is if the Hearing Aid is for a child the most suitable is usually a `Behind the Ear ` type as this will continue to be useful even as the child grows and their ears get bigger. `In the Channel ` type would have to be replaced as the ear channel grows and the Aid does no longer fit properly.
Before you buy any Hearing Aid make sure that you are satisfied it meets all your particular individual requirements.