You know it’s time to upgrade your hearing aid if you’re walking around with one of those old-school ear trumpets. When you use conventional hearing aids, making that call is more difficult. You got your hearing aids 10 years ago, and they still get the job done, right?
While it could be true that older hearing aids are better than nothing, chances are what little advantage you get from using them comes at a price. In the last few years, hearing aids have dramatically advanced. It’s gone from analog to digital, for one thing, and there are features now that weren’t even invented a decade ago. Why should you be contemplating an upgrade? Here are a few good reasons.
Old Hearing Aids Are Unreliable
Outdated or even low-quality hearing aids have serious problems like that aggravating buzz you hear every once in a while. How about that feedback any time you get near a phone, that’s a lot of fun. That deafening feedback occasionally happens for no obvious reason. What caused it this time?
You’ve Become Complacent With Its Failings
You’re used to going to a quiet place while everybody around you is involved in conversation or questioning why the air conditioner is so noisy. Remember that time when your hearing aid wouldn’t stop cutting out when you were trying to listen to your grandson sing a song and you only heard some of what they were singing. Of course, you still clapped.
Old hearing aids have all of these kinds of issues. Raising the volume was the primary objective in hearing aids ten years ago. Today, hearing aids do magic tricks such as filtering out background noise, so no more noisy air conditioner.
Older Hearing Aids Will Cost You More Money
When you’re considering upgrading your hearing aid, cost is a major consideration. You will need to make a preliminary purchase with new hearing aids but older ones will also be costly with time. Analog devices need new batteries a lot. If you are replacing the batteries on a daily basis, or even more often than that, the costs can get very high.
Repair costs can also escalate with older hearing aids. If you picture your hearing aid as a 1992 Buick, you get the idea. It’s in the repair shop more than it is in your ear and repairs are not cheap.
Nowadays, we Have Smart Technology
Many contemporary hearing aids have Bluetooth functionality. An analog device won’t have that feature. Having Bluetooth built into your digital hearing aid means that it’s compatible with your computer, your phone, perhaps even your tv (unless they’re a decade old, as well.)
The Secret to Everything is Communication
Studies reveal that hearing loss can mean a reduced paycheck. Doesn’t it seem sensible then that better hearing aids would be a career asset? It will be easier to hear what your boss and customers are saying. You will follow directions without wondering if you got it right and have essential conversations without worrying about whether your hearing aids will hold up or not.
And clearly you will have a better quality of life if you have good communication skills. You won’t have to go sit alone while people are having conversations. Feel free to get right in and connect with others.
You Really Want a More Stylish Looking Hearing Aid
When you look in the mirror at your old hearing aid, what words come to mind? Embarrassing? Obvious? Does this make me look old? Flexibility and style are some of the most considerable reasons to replace your hearing aid. You can buy hearing aids in numerous colors, sizes, and shapes nowadays. You can wear a visible one in your favorite color or a discrete one tucked invisibly inside your ear.
Clues That It’s Time
Now you understand all the reasons you should want a hearing aid upgrade, but not what you should specifically look for that says your device is at risk of being called an antique. Here are some telling indications that the time has come:
- Your hearing has changed. You don’t hear as good as you once did even with the hearing aid in.
- Your outdated hearing aid just can’t keep up with your evolving life. It’s a pain to take it out just to talk on the phone, or perhaps you’ve changed jobs and now have to cope with more background noise.
- Your hearing aid keeps quitting. You really can’t rely on it functioning when you most need it.
- It’s obvious that you have an analog device. You should go digital as soon as you can.
- Your hearing aid seems heavy. Analog hearing aids weigh a lot.
- Your hearing aid is the only thing you see when you look in a mirror. Back when that old hearing aid was made, technology was much bigger.
- You need to replace the batteries every day. Contemporary hearing aids are more energy efficient, and some come with rechargeable batteries.
It’s not rocket science. If you’ve had your hearing aids for seven years or more, it’s time to upgrade and hear better.