Digital Hearing Aids
Paul Darroch's Hearing Centres in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Ayr provide hearing a comprehensive fitting service for your digital hearing aids and digital hearing aid accessories and batteries.
Hearing aid technology is increasingly complex, so ensuring you receive impartial, knowledgable advice is crucial to getting the best digital hearing aid for you.
Benefits of wearing digital hearing aids
According to a recent study*, people with hearing loss who choose to improve their hearing with hearing aids enjoy an improved quality of life. The study of 2090 close family members and friends of hearing-impaired respondents also showed that those not treating hearing loss with hearing aids were more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety and paranoia, and les likely to participate in social activities.
Those among the respondents who did use hearing aids reported such feelings half as often. Hearing aid users were also half as likely to experience long periods (more than a month) of anxiety and tension. Claims that "people get angry with me for no reason" were half as likely to occur among hearing aid users.
*The Consequences of Untreated Hearing Loss in Older Persons May 1999
The Digital Difference
The problem with analogues hearing aids compared to digital hearing aids is that the former used tiny microphones and amplifiers that made all sounds louder and produced significant feedback. Digital Hearing Aids are able to instead filter out background noise while focusing on for example a soft voice.
Types of Digital Hearing Aids
With modern technology, you now have substantial choice over the type of hearing aid you wear:
In-The-Ear Digital Hearing Aids
In-the-ear hearing aids are custom made to fit securely in your outer ear, ensuring optimum performance and comfort. They provide sufficient space for extra options such as directional microphones or telecoil switches. They are suitable for mild to severe hearing losses.
In-The-Canal Digital Hearing Aids
In-the-canal hearing aids are custom made to fit almost entirely inside your ear canal, making them very discreet. Many people appreciate the balance offered by canal aids - small enough to provide some of the benefits of the completely-in-the-canal aid, they also provide enough room to accommodate additional options that may not fit in a smaller aid. They are suitable for mild to moderate losses.
Completely In-The-Canal Digital Hearing Aids
Completely-in-the-canal hearing aids are custom made to fit deeply inside your ear canal, making them almost invisible. The advantages include cosmetic appeal, reduced feedback, and excellent sound quality. These instruments are suitable for mild to moderate hearing losses.
On-The-Ear Digital Hearing Aids
On-the-ear instruments offer a lightweight, virtually unseen alternative to in the ear aids. Also known as open fit aids, because the ear canal is not occluded, they can be a good choice for people with mild hearing loss.
Helix Digital Hearing Aids
Helix instruments are another modern, sophisticated style of hearing aid for people with mild hearing loss. Siemens "Vibe" or "Be" by Resound offer first-time users a completely different type of device.
Choosing between digital hearing aids
Everyone has different degrees of hearing loss. Some people need a digital hearing aid to hear in groups, others when they are talking to a single person. Where are you experiencing difficulty? Your lifestyle so influences your choice of hearing aid - we can advise your choice of digital hearing aid based on:
- Degree of Hearing Loss - not all hearing aid shell styles and technologies are appropriate for all types of hearing loss.
- Ear Anatomy - some ear canals are very tiny, making it almost impossible to fit an In-Canal Hearing Aid
- Lifestyle - your different environments will help dictate your ideal hearing aid
- Manual Dexterity - small hearing aids, while easy to insert, require a steady hand
- Cosmetic Preference - each hearing aid type offers a range of styles, colours, and sizes to choose between
- Budget - hearing aids are available for every budget, with the more sophisticated models costing more. It is not necessarily the case that the most expensive model best matches your requirements
- Two Hearing Aids - For most people, a bilateral fitting (one hearing aid in each ear) provides the best solution, so we offer a reduction on the total cost when you choose this fitting
Enquiring about a digital hearing aid
Call now on 0141 620 3865 for more information or to book your free hearing test.