What You Need to Know About Online “Hearing Aids”
Your hearing is precious, and, like your vision, is a sense that changes over time based on environmental and genetic factors. It is important to care for your hearing and learn to respect what your hearing and hearing evaluations can tell you.
When purchasing “hearing aids” from an online distributor, there are many risks that outweigh the benefits of a seemingly cost-effective “solution” for your hearing challenges. To begin with, the “hearing aids” typically touted by the majority of online retailers are not actually hearing aids, they are considered Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs). Recently, the FDA proposed guidance to clarify the differences between PSAPs and hearing aids due in part to the dangers that mistaking a PSAP for a hearing aid can potentially cause. (http://hearinghealthmatters.org/hearingnewswatch/2013/fda-proposes-guidance-clarify-differences-hearing-aids-psaps/)
Apart from the definition and mechanical difference between the “hearing aids” or PSAPs sold by online retailers and licensed professionals, the way your hearing loss is handled is also completely different, starting with the way your hearing is tested. While online tests can generally tell you whether or not you are hearing in a normal range, they cannot diagnose the reason why or determine how your hearing loss occurred.
Hearing loss can stem from a number of causes, such as damage from noise exposure or age – yet those are not the only reasons your hearing may be suffering. Sometimes the problem is simply impacted wax, a common ailment that can easily be treated. However, sometimes the cause of hearing loss can be an indicator of something life threatening such as a brain tumor, cancer, or other disease. When you receive a hearing test from someone authorized by the state to administer them – NOT online – the Audiologist is able to diagnose both the level of hearing loss as well as the cause. They also can see what else your loss indicates about your health.
Due to the environment they are administered in, online tests are also unable to accurately measure your hearing loss across the entire hearing spectrum. This means that while a company may claim that they can “program your hearing aids” by using their test only, these hearing aids cannot be accurately programmed for you. This can result in overall discomfort and in more severe circumstances, an even greater hearing loss. When hearing aids are inaccurately programmed, they magnify sounds in areas in which you do not need amplification. This can cause Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) to occur in the healthy range of hearing that you still have, much in the way it would for those who use earbuds too often.
Hearing Aids distributed by licensed professionals do not pose this risk. The hearing evaluation performed by an Audiologist is far different than what is done through online testing. Administered in a carefully monitored environment, before your evaluation begins your Audiologist will physically examine your ears for wax buildup and other visually evident problems. Only after it has been determined that your ears are safe and prepared for testing will your Audiologist begin to administer your hearing evaluation.
By following this process, the Audiologist is therefore able to rely on an accurate and federally regulated test, measure your speech discrimination scores, as well as discuss what your personal comfort levels are so that they are able to program your hearing aids to suit your personal needs. This ensures that the hearing aids fit comfortably and adjust only the areas and sounds that you need amplified. They also limit that amplification so that it falls within your individual range of hearing, making sure not to ever over amplify what you need to hear.
Purchasing hearing aids online can also threaten your health in more ways than potentially causing NIHL. As online companies are unable to provide proper counsel, maintenance, or support, and their products are not regulated by state and federal institutions, the hearing aids they market can lead to other health complications such as ear infections (due to improper care) as well as reactions to the materials used in manufacturing.
Hearing aids that are received through specialists are strictly regulated for health and safety, meaning that all of the materials used to make them are safe to wear. Your Audiologist will also provide counseling on safe wearing habits and instruct you on how to cleanse the hearing aids so that bacteria does not build up in and around your ear and lead to an infection. In circumstances where you purchase your hearing aid through a specialist rather than online, you are also able to receive the follow-up care and hearing aid adjustments you need.
Your hearing can change overnight as well as gradually, and it is important to make sure that your hearing aids are properly fitted to whatever changes you encounter, so as to avoid causing any damage or discomfort. When you meet with an Audiologist, they will check your hearing and hearing aids to be sure that they are accurately fitted to your environment. Online retailers are unable to do this, and cannot provide the assistance necessary to maintain good hearing.
More than simply avoiding online hearing aid retailers due to the potential danger to your health, it is important to meet with a licensed professional to learn more about your hearing in general, especially if you suspect you may have a hearing loss. There may be environmental or medical factors that are increasing your hearing loss, such as working in loud areas or consuming drugs that have been deemed “Ototoxic.” Your Audiologist will be able to help you determine what outside factors may be affecting your hearing and how to adjust your lifestyle to fit your hearing loss needs.
Consultations of this nature are specifically unique to licensed hearing professionals, and are along the lines of the type of counseling you would receive were you to be outfitted with other medical devices, such as glasses or even prosthetics.
The ability to hear is a gift, one that often goes unnoticed until it is nearly gone. If you feel that you have a hearing loss or that you need hearing aids, help preserve the hearing you have left by meeting with our Audiologist today. The assistance and devices they can provide are unmatched in the world of cyber-sales, and will help you to manage your hearing loss in the safest and most healthy way possible.