Because of the costs associated with hearing aids, many patients who wear them don’t consider replacing them until something goes wrong. But your hearing is a dynamic sense and your needs may change over time—and this can happen before your current hearing aids wear out.
Here are five ways to know it may be time to replace your hearing aids.
1. They don’t work reliably.
Your hearing aids may work OK most of the time, but occasionally go in and out or make strange noises. If this is happening, you’ll have to decide when it’s a significant enough problem to address by either getting them professional repaired or (more likely) replacing them with a newer pair. Another thing you may notice is that you are not hearing as well. You or your loved ones may notice you are asking them to repeat more often. You may also notice you are straining to hear more than before. This could be a sign that the hearing aids are not working at their full potential.
2. They no longer suit your needs.
Your hearing aids might be working just fine, but you might be noticing that you just can’t hear things as well as when you first got them from your audiologist. If that’s the case, it could very well be that your hearing needs have changed. You could ask your audiologist to readjust your hearing aids, but that may or may not solve the problem. If adjustments aren’t enough, you may need a new pair that will better suit your unique hearing loss.
3. They don’t fit with your lifestyle.
Say you got a new mobile phone that your old hearing aids can’t pair with. There comes a time when that’s inconvenient enough to warrant upgrading to a different style or technology of hearing aid. Or, if you decide that you want to exercise more and your hearing aids aren’t staying in place while you’re on the move, maybe you want to get a pair that better suits your lifestyle.
4. You want to switch aesthetics.
Hearing aid design has come a long way in the past few years, and it’s possible that you’ll spot a set of hearing aids that looks a lot “cooler” than your current ones. Depending on what your budget looks like, you may want to consider upgrading in order to get a model you find more visually appealing. After all, you wear your hearing aids all day, every day.
5. Your batteries are causing your problems.
Are you finding yourself switching batteries too often or randomly running out of power in the middle of the day? Like any other electronic device, hearing aids suffer from rechargeable batteries that lose their effectiveness over time. There are now many choices for rechargeable hearing aids and hearing aid batteries and t it may be worth considering the cost of a new hearing aid, especially if you’re also experiencing any of the other 4 issues above.
Are you on the fence about whether you need new hearing aids or not? Let’s talk about it. Reach out to us to schedule an appointment!
