5 Tips for Choosing Hearing Aids: Improve Your Auditory Perception

A hearing aid is a tool used to improve hearing. Tips for choosing hearing aids are quite necessary to improve auditory perception.

Tips for choosing hearing aids include knowing your hearing loss level, comfortable type, suits your lifestyle, additional features, try before you buy, and adjust to your budget.

In this article, we will provide you with essential information on tips for choosing hearing aids that you should know before making a purchase.

Tips for Choosing Hearing Aids

Acquiring hearing aids can significantly improve your auditory perception. Therefore, it is important to know tips for choosing them. Here are five tips for choosing hearing aids that you can follow:

1. Know your hearing loss level 

The first thing you need to do when choosing hearing aids is to find out your hearing loss level. To do this, you can have a hearing test (audiometry) at an otolaryngologist (ENT) doctor.

By doing this test, you will find out whether your hearing loss is mild, moderate, severe, or profound. From there, the right specifications for your hearing problem can be determined. 

2. Choose the type that is most comfortable and suits your lifestyle

There are several types of hearing aids based on how they are worn:

• BTE (Behind-The-Ear): Placed behind the ear and connected to the ear canal with a tube. Usually, they are more durable and suitable for all levels of hearing loss.
• ITE (In-The-Ear): Fits inside the ear canal. Its design is practical and quite comfortable for those who are socially active.
• RIC (Receiver-In-Canal): Similar to BTE but with clearer sound because the receiver goes directly into the ear canal.
• CIC (Completely-In-the-Canal): Very small and nearly invisible. Suitable for those who prioritize aesthetics.
• In-The-Canal (ITC): Similar to ITE hearing aids, but smaller in size. 
• Invisible-In-Canal (IIC): The smallest type of hearing aid. This type is almost invisible because it is placed deep inside the ear canal.

You also need to consider your activities, such as whether you are often in noisy rooms, use the phone, or are active outdoors. All of these factors will influence the model and features you need.

3. Consider additional features you may need

Today’s hearing aids come with many modern features. Therefore, it is important to consider additional features that may be useful:

• Bluetooth: Allows direct connection to smartphones, TVs, or laptops.
• Non-Bluetooth wireless connection (180–200 MHz): This technology allows hearing aids to pick up sound from a distance, without being disturbed by surrounding noise.
• Supporting applications: Enables volume adjustment, sound profile settings, or battery level monitoring directly from your phone.
• Automatic settings: Reduce background noise in crowded environments, allowing the device to adapt to its surroundings.
• Rechargeable batteries: More practical and environmentally friendly, eliminating the need for frequent battery replacements.

These additional features will certainly increase the price of the hearing aids. However, it will be worth it for the comfort you will get.

4. Try before you buy

Trying before you buy is something you need to do to ensure the comfort of use. Many stores and professional services offer trial programs, which you can take advantage of to test out the device.

For maximum results, don’t hesitate to ask your audiologist to adjust the volume or sound sensitivity settings.

5. Adjust to your budget

Hearing aids are not cheap devices, but for those who need them, they are certainly indispensable. Therefore, it is important to adjust to your budget. 

If you have a limited budget, choose a standard model that meets your basic needs. Expensive hearing aids may not necessarily be suitable for you. So, it’s best to focus on comfort, medical needs, and relevant features according to your budget.

6. Consider after-sales service

Given their high price, hearing aids are certainly a long-term investment. Therefore, it is important to consider the after-sales service of the product.

You can consider products that come with a warranty, service availability, ease of purchasing spare parts or batteries, and regular consultation services with an audiologist.

Those are five tips for choosing hearing aids that you can apply before making a purchase decision. You can consider knowing your hearing loss level, comfortable type, suits your lifestyle, additional features, try before you buy, and adjust to your budget.