What You Need to Know About Hearing Aids

Hearing loss is common, especially as people get older. About one-third of Americans ages 65 to 75 have some hearing problems. Yet studies estimate that only 20 percent of people who would benefit from wearing a hearing aid do so.

Hearing loss often starts with an inability to hear high-frequency sounds. A person with diminished hearing often will complain that he or she can hear others just fine but can't make out what they're saying.

If you suspect you have a hearing problem, make an appointment with an otolaryngologist, a doctor who specializes in ear, nose and throat problems; or an otologist, a doctor who specializes in ears.

The doctor will examine your ears and ask questions about your hearing. After ruling out some sort of obvious obstruction or major ear infection, most doctors will use a tuning fork to make a preliminary assessment, followed by more advanced tests that will determine the extent and frequency range of your loss.

If your doctor recommends a hearing aid, the following suggestions can help you determine which kind will suit you best.

Buying a hearing aid

You'll have many questions when you shop for a hearing aid: Should I get a behind-the-ear or an in-the-ear model? A digital or an analog aid? Should I spend $300—or $3,000?

With hearing loss you lose hearing in various frequencies, ranges of sound. A digital hearing aid can be programmed to boost specific frequencies so that you hear in some or all of the frequencies you have lost. This improves understandability of speech dramatically over an analog hearing aid. Analog hearing aids amplify all frequencies. This may improve hearing somewhat but not intelligibility of speech. A programmable analog hearing aid tries to overcome this deficiency. By adjusting the amplifier, you can adjust certain ranges of pitch just as you would on your home stereo, which amplifies when you adjust the bass, treble and midrange. However, programmable analog hearing aid is not as adjustable as a digital hearing aid. Digital hearing aids can be programmed to boost a single specific frequency.

With today's technology, behind-the-ear aids are small, powerful and easy to handle for cleaning, changing the battery and adjusting the volume. Though they're more noticeable than in-the-ear aids, they can be more user-friendly.

The in-the-ear models come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are plainly visible and fill the entire, bowl-shaped part of the outer ear. Others can hardly be seen and fit almost completely in the ear canal.

There are two basic choices in circuitry—digital and analog. The circuitry is the machinery within the hearing aid that processes sound. The size and shape of the hearing aid are independent of the circuitry because manufacturers can fit any kind of circuitry into almost any size hearing aid.

The price of a hearing aid varies, depending on the circuitry, but as a rule, the smaller the hearing aid, the more expensive it is.

Digital is more expensive than analog. Programmable analog hearing aids are midway between basic analog hearing aids and digital models in terms of cost.

In most states, two kinds of specialists are licensed to fit you for a hearing aid: audiologists and hearing-aid dispensers, sometimes called hearing-instrument specialists.

Audiologists must have a master's degree and are licensed to evaluate hearing and fit people with hearing aids. Many are affiliated with hospitals and schools. Dispensers usually are licensed only to sell and fit hearing aids.