Is it Time to Upgrade Your Hearing Aids?

You’ve had your hearing aids for years and you trust them. Even if you’ve taken excellent care of your units, you may want to consider taking a look at the latest hearing aids. Whether it’s older technology or changes in your hearing, there are many reasons to ask yourself, “Is it time to upgrade my hearing aids?”

How well do they work?

If you’ve noticed that you’re not hearing as well as you used to, you hear buzzing or crackling, or you have trouble hearing in noisy places, it may be time for an upgrade. Even with the best care, hearing aids that are more than five years old may need to be replaced. If you’ve had to make several repairs to your units, replacement may be more cost beneficial. Older units may not fit well anymore and you may have some soreness. Aging units also go through batteries faster and faster. Sometimes your hearing has changed and you need new units.

Have you had a change in lifestyle?

Some of the features available on newer hearing aids may help you adjust to a new situation. Perhaps you’re on the phone more and the units that use Bluetooth to stream sound wirelessly from your phone will make a big difference. Maybe you’ve moved from quiet surroundings to somewhere with more activity and need hearing aids with more power or different capabilities. If you’re into sports, there are hearing aids that are waterproof, dustproof and shock resistant. Rechargeable batteries may make things easier for someone with arthritis.

Are your hearing aids outdated?

Even if your units are in good working order, it may be time to upgrade, especially if you have analog hearing aids. With advances in technology, digital hearing aids provide better service. Distortion is reduced, the ability to hear in noisy surroundings is better and there’s little to no annoying whistling.

Digital hearing aids continue to provide new and exciting technology, which changes rapidly. If you want streaming sound (to talk on the phone) or find it beneficial for your hearing aids to communicate with your electronic devices, it may be time for an upgrade.

Do you want smaller units?

Advancing technology also means changes in size, color and style. Some of today’s hearing aids are invisible to the eye. Units that were inches high several years ago may now be just a few centimeters in size. With different colors available, you can match your skin tone or your hair or stand out with red, pink or purple!

If you’re running into costly repairs or find that your current units just aren’t doing the job because they’re old, it may be time to upgrade your hearing aids. Some people find that the latest technology makes it worthwhile to replace their units. Even if you’re not ready to upgrade today, keeping an eye on hearing aid improvements will help you when the time comes.

If you think you may be ready to upgrade your hearing technology, schedule an appointment with your audiologist to discuss options.