Introduction
This information will help you understand your choices, whether you
share in the decision-making process or rely on your doctor's
recommendation.
Key points in making your decision
Hearing loss
can affect your work and home life. It can also affect your personal safety.
Permanent hearing loss can make you feel lonely or depressed or like you have
lost your independence.
Hearing aids can often help with these
issues. If you think you have a hearing problem, you may want to think about
getting a hearing aid.
Consider the following when making your
decision:
- Some types of hearing loss can be treated and
corrected so that you don't need a hearing aid. See an ear, nose, and throat
doctor to find out if your hearing loss can be treated and if a hearing aid
will help.
- You can learn how to live with reduced hearing by
paying attention to people's gestures, facial expressions, posture, and tone of
voice. You might want to take a lip-reading class. These things can help
whether you use a hearing aid or not.
- Although it will take some
time to get used to using a hearing aid, many people do so and learn how to get
the most out of one.
- Hearing aids can help you hear better and feel
connected to others.
Medical Information
What is a hearing aid?
A hearing aid makes sounds
louder. But it cannot single out one type of sound, such as a voice, and make
it louder. It makes all sounds louder. Although a hearing aid doesn't restore
normal hearing, it may make it easier for you to carry on your daily activities
and to talk with others.
You can wear hearing aids behind your
ear, in your outer ear, or in your ear canal. Most newer models fit in the ear
or ear canal. There are three major types of hearing aids:
- Analog adjustable
hearing aids are made based on your hearing tests. They make both speech and
other sounds louder in the same amount. Your doctor can adjust them a bit to
fit your hearing, and you control loudness. These are the least costly type of
hearing aids.
- Analog programmable hearing
aids contain a computer chip that your doctor can program based on your hearing
loss and how you respond to louder sounds. These hearing aids can be changed
for different hearing situations, such as when you talk with one person in a
room or at a dinner party in a restaurant. You can change the settings with a
remote control.
- Digital programmable hearing
aids can adjust themselves to different sounds such as a voice or noise. They
give you more choices in programming than analog hearing aids. They are the
most advanced and the most expensive type of hearing aid.
How can I find out if a hearing aid could help me?
If you think you have a hearing problem and are thinking about getting a
hearing aid, look for an ear, nose, and throat doctor (an
otolaryngologist or otologist). He or she can check to
make sure other problems aren't present and find out the cause of your hearing
loss. The doctor can also recommend possible treatments.
If the
doctor finds that a hearing aid would help, ask for a recommendation for an
audiologist. This specialist can help you choose the
type of hearing aid that will work best for you. He or she can help you learn
how to get the most out of your hearing aid.
What are the benefits of wearing a hearing aid?
Hearing aids can help you hear better and feel connected to family,
friends, and others. They can also make you safer when you drive or when you
work around home. Hearing aids may help with your job, hobbies, and daily
activities such as talking on the phone. A hearing aid often can be programmed
to mask
tinnitus (a ringing in the ear).
Wearing
a hearing aid also shows courtesy to others, because you don't have to keep
asking them to repeat what they just said. You can again enjoy talking with
your family without extra effort.
Will it be hard to adjust to a hearing aid?
It may
take from several weeks to months for you to get used to your hearing aid. You
may find that:
- Your hearing aid makes all sounds louder, and
you may hear sounds you have not heard for a long time. Your own voice probably
will sound very loud. Background noises such as rustling newspapers, clinking
silverware, and other voices may bother you. You will have to learn to filter
out unwanted sounds.
- Your hearing changes as your situation
changes. How your hearing aid works will be different when you talk quietly to
a friend or spouse, enjoy a family dinner, or attend a presentation with a
large group of people. In each situation you will have to learn how to adjust
your listening.
- Your hearing aid can be uncomfortable. It will feel
odd in your ear at first and may cause some pain and tenderness in the ear
canal. But you do not have to wear it 24 hours a day.
In most cases, you can try a hearing aid for at least
30 days before you buy it to see if it is helpful and if you can adjust to it.
If the hearing aid isn't helpful, then you can return it.
If you
need more information, see the topic
Hearing Aids.
Your Information
Your choices are:
- Do not get a hearing aid, and learn how to live
with reduced hearing by paying attention to people's gestures, facial
expressions, posture, and tone of voice. (These things can help whether you use
a hearing aid or not.)
- Use a hearing aid. First, you will need to
see a doctor to find out if your hearing loss can be treated and if a hearing
aid will help.
The decision whether to get a hearing aid takes into
account your personal feelings and the medical facts.
Deciding about getting a hearing aid Reasons to get a hearing aid | Reasons to not get a hearing aid |
- A hearing aid can help you hear better
and feel connected to others.
- With a hearing aid, you don't have to
keep asking others to repeat what they just said.
- You need to hear
better to do your job and other daily activities.
- You have a type
of hearing loss that can be helped by a hearing aid.
- Hearing better
will make you feel safer when you drive or when you work around home or on the
job.
- A hearing aid often can be programmed to mask
tinnitus (a ringing in the ear).
Are there other reasons you might want to get a
hearing aid? | - You think that wearing a hearing aid is
embarrassing.
- You have tried, but you cannot adjust to using a
hearing aid.
- Your insurance does not cover the cost of a hearing
aid, and you cannot afford one.
- You are able to adjust to reduced
hearing by paying attention to people's gestures, facial expressions, posture,
and tone of voice.
- You have a type of hearing loss that cannot be
corrected with a hearing aid.
Are there other reasons you might not want to get a
hearing aid? |
These
personal stories may help you make your decision.
Wise Health Decision
Use this worksheet to help you make your decision.
After completing it, you should have a better idea of how you feel about using
a hearing aid. Discuss the worksheet with your doctor.
Circle the
answer that best applies to you.
| I have trouble hearing. | Yes | No | Unsure |
| I have talked to an ear, nose, and throat doctor
about my hearing problem. | Yes | No | NA |
| Treating other problems, such as removing earwax
or taking medicine for an infection, did not help me hear better. | Yes | No | Unsure |
| I can live with hearing loss by paying attention
to people's gestures, facial expressions, posture, and tone of voice. | Yes | No | Unsure |
| My hearing problem is affecting relationships with
my family, friends, and others. | Yes | No | Unsure |
I understand the costs of getting a hearing
aid. | Yes | No | Unsure |
| I am willing to take the time to adjust to using a
hearing aid. | Yes | No | Unsure |
*NA=Not applicable
Use
the following space to list any other important concerns you have about this
decision.
What is your overall impression?
Your answers in
the above worksheet are meant to give you a general idea of where you stand on
this decision. You may have one overriding reason to use or not use a hearing
aid.
Check the box below that represents your overall impression
about your decision.
Leaning toward getting a hearing aid | | Leaning toward NOT getting a hearing aid |
Return to the topic
Hearing Loss.
