Southern Hearing Excellence

Hearing aid information

When it comes to choosing your hearing aids, your audiologist will always explain everything you need to know about hearing aid options at your hearing assessment, ensuring you have all the information on hand. However, for those who prefer to do research prior to taking the leap, below we have provided a guide on what we consider to be the most important factors when it comes to hearing aid use.

Hearing aid styles

An overview of current hearing aid options, generalised to the industry.
Receiver In-The-Canal (RIC)
  • Disposable battery
  • Rechargeable battery
Visibility factor: low-visibility 

Best for ✓

  • The best choice of all hearing aid styles, when  considering performance and value for money.
  • Suitable for a wide range of individuals, including the majority of older people.
  • The most effective style for improving hearing outcomes. This is especially so for improving speech clarity in noise settings.
  • Phone call / media streaming comes as standard, even in budget models.
  • Very comfortable for most people to wear.

Not so suitable for

  • For those with more severe dexterity issues, this style can be too difficult to manage.

General reliability 

✓✓✓✓ EXCELLENT

  • In most cases, this style experiences fewer problems than all the others. They are widely recognised for being the most dependable, while repairs are generally quicker and easier.
  • Expected lifespan: 4.5 - 6.5 years

In-The-Canal (ITC)

  • Rechargeable battery
  • Disposable battery
Visibility factor: invisible to near-invisible 

Best for ✓

  • Effective for improving everyday listening, such as in one-on-one conversations, small groups and watching television.
  • The best option for those after an invisible/near invisible device.
  • Because they are custom-shaped to the ear canal, they usually fit extremely well.

Not so suitable for

  • Less improvements for speech clarity in noise/social settings are seen in these devices compared to RIC styles.
  • Phone call / media streaming is not always available on these styles.

General reliability

✓✓✓ FAIR

  • This style is unfortunately more prone to defects when compared to all other styles. This is because of all the delicate electronic parts are housed directly inside the ear canal, meaning they are consistently exposed to moisure and ear wax. 
  • However, these issues are more commonly seen in people who work outdoors or those not following proper device care. 
  • Expected lifespan: 3.5 - 5 years 

Rechargeable In-The-Ear (R-ITE)

  • Rechargeable battery
  • Disposable battery
Visibility: high-visibility

Best for ✓

  • Effective for improving everyday listening, such as in one-on-one conversations, small groups, watching television, and streaming phone calls. 
  • The best option for those after an easier-to-manage device, such as those with dexterity issues.

Not so suitable for

  • Being larger, they are not a discreet hearing aid option.

General reliability

✓ ✓ ✓  GOOD-EXCELLENT

  • In most cases, this style is high reliability, putting them just below RIC-hearing aids as the second most reliable option.
  • Expected lifespan: 4-5.5 years 

Your hearing loss type in relation to hearing aid styles

When thinking about the different hearing aid styles on offer (hearing aids that go behind the ear or in-the-ear) it's important to know that not all styles are suitable for all types of hearing losses. The severity of a person's hearing loss and its relation to specific frequencies, can determine if certain styles will work for a person or not. Therefore, it's important to think about different options, not only from a cosmetics view, but also in relation to the type that is going to perform the best for you.

Hearing aid technology levels and your hearing goals

Understanding the scenarios where enhancing your hearing is most important for you, is undeniably the most significant factor to take into account prior to purchasing hearing aids. Expectations vs outcomes matter more than people think. Lower-end technology hearing aids are highly effective for one-on-one conversations, watching TV and engaging with soft-spoken individuals. Nonetheless, while they do enhance your hearing in environments with background noise, this capability will be limited in lower-end models. For many people, such as the very elderly, this may not be an issue at all, but for others, it may not address their primary hearing problems.

When it comes to technology levels, we recommend reflecting on the value restoring your hearing holds to you, along with the expectations you have from hearing aid use.

Preferences on ease of use 

Modern hearing aids can be made as simple or as complex as a person likes - with options now including phone call streaming, app and button controls, tinnitus masking, along with the choice of disposable and rechargeable batteries, it's important to think about whether you are the type of person that prefers simplicity in use - I want to put them on each morning and just forget about them. Or, you are someone who prefers control and customisation - such as having devices with call streaming and full control of your hearing aid profile. For some individuals, the ability to effortlessly put on devices each morning and forget about them is essential, while for others, it's not.

Commitment to the process and following of correct use

Using hearing aids is most effective when the individual is genuinely motivated to enhance their hearing. For many people just beginning their journey with hearing aids, it’s common to require a few weeks to a month to get their head around using them. This can be frustrating for many, but this adjustment period is entirely normal and nearly always overcome.

Additionally, it requires dedication to incorporate wearing them daily. While not everyone needs to wear hearing aids continuously throughout the day, most people do. So be prepared for this. When starting out with hearing aids, due to brain neuroplasticity, infrequent and incorrect use of hearing aids is among the most detrimental things a person can do. Therefore, it is crucial for anyone beginning hearing aid use to ensure one’s motivation levels should be at the very least, moderate. 

What are the ongoing responsibilities of hearing aid use?

People using hearing aids only need to perform easy and quick tasks in maintenance of their devices, primarily this simply involves cleaning them atleast once or twice per week, while charging them each night. Cleaning may not seem that important, but it actually plays a vital role in ensuring that devices continue to function optimally between the visits to your audiologist. People who adher to proper maintenance of hearing aids, wouldn't typically spend more than 5 minutes on this each week. Cleaning also extends the life of the devices.
Hearing aid use also requires continuous programming updates. This is performed to suit the natural changes that occur to hearing over time. Typically, you will see your audiologist once per year for this, during which crucial software updates for your devices take place, while a comprehensive hearing test and an ear health checkup is conducted. 

What benefits can I realistically expect out of hearing aid use?

Improvements to hearing

Hearing aids can significantly enhance hearing. However, the extent of these improvements largely depends on the baseline hearing of the person using them.
Individuals with mild-to-moderate hearing loss will generally experience significant improvements in most listening situations (technology dependent). However, in cases of more severe hearing loss, people can expect to get improvements in some areas while still likely struggling in others.

Brain health benefits

Hearing aids not only help us hear better, but they also keep the brain's auditory nerve pathways engaged and healthy, reducing the risk of cognitive decline and auditory processing difficulties.

When someone has a notable hearing loss and makes the decision not to use hearing aids, there are greater losses beyond just the ability to hear. With moderate-or-worse hearing loss, over time, permanent auditory nerve deterioration occurs. This makes it harder for the brain to  understand and process speech, even when speech is loud and clear, regardless of hearing aid use. That's why if you suspect hearing loss, it's vital to get it assessed.