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Hearing instruments age. But they also get outdated.
There are many reasons you may want to consider an upgrade, even if things are workingfine.
Hearing aids, like everything else, have a finite lifespan. But there’s more to it than that.
Hearing aids can last anywhere from three years to seven — for some people, even longer. Variables affecting this lifespan include how well the instrument is built, how well it’s maintained, and how much wear and tear it experiences being worn in your ear for many hours a day.
Naturally, when a hearing instrument stops working reliably, you could be a candidate for new hearing aids, or at least a significant repair. But there are other reasons you may want to make an appointment with your hearing care professional and consider an upgrade, even if things are working fine.
Here are a few:
Changes in your hearing
Remember, age-related hearing loss is a degenerativecondition — it gets worse as you get older. If you’re notgetting like-new performance from your hearing aids,it may be time to see your hearing care professional foran adjustment. Sometimes your hearing may change tothe point where it’s beyond the range of your currenthearing aids. You may need to upgrade to a morepowerful instrument or one with new capabilities thatmeet your changing needs.
Changes in your life
Changes in your occupation, living situation, outsideinterests or family life can put new demands onyour hearing aids. A new job with a lot of conferencecalls and meetings, a teaching job, or a job in a noisyenvironment like a restaurant or construction site ... anyof these situations can mean a change in your hearingrequirements. So could getting married, moving in withfamily, taking up a new hobby, or moving to a grouphome where there is a lot of conversation and socialactivity. If you were originally fitted for hearing aidsbased on a quieter lifestyle, any of these situationscould create a need for hearing aids with more power ornew capabilities.
Changes in hearing instruments
Advances in hearing technology have introduced a lotof features that weren’t available just a few years ago... features you may have been waiting for but couldn’tget when you were first fitted. For example, acrossthe board, Oticon hearing instruments are smarterthan ever, working with your brain to do a better job ofseparating conversation from background noise andpreserving the spatial ‘soundscape’ of a room — newfeatures that enhance comprehension and reducefatigue. The micro-brains inside these devices workhard to adjust automatically and optimize performance,to take the strain off your brain.
Today’s advanced hearing aids are more fun, too. Theycan connect easily to all the new electronic devicesaround you — TVs, computers, smartphones, audioequipment and more. And there are more options thanever for size and fit: more colors, completely invisibledevices, and newer, more comfortable external hearingaids.
In short, it pays to keep up to date with advances inhearing technology, regardless of how well your currenthearing aids are performing. Next time you visit yourhearing care professional for new batteries or otherservices, try asking, “What’s new?”
You may be amazed at what you find.
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