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Health Care

When Should You Pair a Hearing Aid Amplifiers

With more and more people in the world affected, deafness is frequent and disabling. In order not to isolate oneself socially, an auditory apparatus is desirable. It remains to be defined when to fit exactly …

First, what are the signs that should lead to consulting an ENT for hearing aid devices? Then what are the available hearing aids?

When should one decide to be paired?

It is necessary to be paired when hearing causes discomfort in everyday life and social, difficulty understanding others, need to turn up the volume of TV, etc.

Hearing discomfort is at first, insidious because we have great adaptability and we compensate. But as it gets worse, denying it is no longer possible.

Here is a series of signs that do not deceive, which clearly indicate a deafness:

  • You do not enter all the words of a conversation.
  • The words come to your ears in a muffled way, like in cotton.
  • You hear but do not understand.
  • You have the impression that others do not articulate.
  • You often have to repeat.
  • You tend to speak loudly.
  • You misunderstand when you do not talk to your face, your back turned in particular, or at a distance.
  • You do not understand the conversations on the phone.
  • When there is music or other background noise, you have trouble understanding the dialogue of a movie.
  • You often increase the volume of the TV or radio.
  • You can not hear the ticking of your watch.
  • You are quickly tired in noisy places.
  • You do not follow conversations with more than 2 people.

When deafness is recognized, what to do?

Once these signs of deafness are recognized, it is necessary to consult an ENT doctor without delay. If there is no urgency to consult a specialist, however, do not wait too long for two reasons:

  • The longer we wait, the more we isolate ourselves and the harder it is to go back.
  • In the absence of deafness treatment, the brain loses the habit of receiving sounds and interpreting them. Auditory rehabilitation with an apparatus is then more difficult.

The ENT doctor performs a complete auditory assessment, indicating the level and characteristics of deafness. Then it is a hearing care professional who will propose the hearing aid best adapted to each case, according to the type of deafness and the needs of each one.

Which hearing aid to choose?

There are several hundred hearing aids on the market. Thanks to digital technology, they now offer good listening comfort.

Earloops. There are the most used (70% of the market), followed by intraoculars. A brief overview of the respective advantages and disadvantages of these two types of devices.

The ear contours

  • These plastic devices bypass the ear. They are large for deep deafness, the more discreet micro-contours are reserved for lighter deafness.
  • Solid.
  • Easy to handle even by older people with visual or motor difficulties.
  • Maintenance free.
  • Autonomy from 10 to 15 days.
  • Their size makes it possible to implement various electronic options: directional microphones, volume control, program selector …
  • Of variable power, they adapt to slight to profound hearing loss.
  • Large-sized earwigs are not very discreet and unattractive.
  • Cost: 500 to 2000 euros per ear.

In-ear

  • In ear hearing aids or completely in the canal hearing aids. They offer a very natural hearing.
  • Intended only for mild to moderate deafness.
  • Very discreet and aesthetic.
  • More fragile.
  • Handling and maintenance are delicate.
  • Precise settings.
  • Easy to use on the phone.
  • Autonomy of 4 to 5 days.
  • Reserved for people whose auditory canal is not too narrow or tortuous.
  • Reserved for people who do not secrete too much earwax.
  • Cost: from 1,400 euros per ear.

The choice of a hearing aid therefore depends on each one, with many criteria being taken into account: anatomy, personal tastes, level of deafness, type of deafness, age, dexterity of manipulation, cost, etc.

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