Frequently Asked Questions
Most hearing problems begin gradually without discomfort or pain, and can be difficult to recognise. Even the people around the patient (friends and family members) often learn to adapt to someone’s hearing loss without realising it. A useful but non-definitive guideline can be found here. To be sure, it is best to consult an audiologist for a diagnostic hearing assessment.
Consult an audiologist for a diagnostic hearing assessment. Based on the results of the test, your audiologist will discuss whether a hearing aid is required and if so, what type of hearing aid is the most suitable for your individual needs.
Yes, there are different styles of hearing aids to suit different purposes. Please click here to learn more about the various hearing aids available.
With increasingly advanced technology, today’s hearing aids can be small and discreet. More importantly, hearing loss has a far more profound social impact on your quality of life. The benefits of being able to hear comfortably and carry out conversations far outweigh any aesthetic issues hearing aids may bring.
This depends on the model and type of hearing aid, but the average hearing aid usually lasts between 3 to 5 years.
We advise patients to remove their hearing aids and open the battery door before going to sleep, to conserve battery life.
Opening the battery door at night ensures that the battery is not being drained, and allows air into the hearing aid to help prevent moisture build-up.
Although some hearing aids are resistant to water, we recommend removing your hearing aid prior to any activity that involves water.
Regular cleaning will keep your hearing aid in good condition. We advise cleaning your hearing aid at the end of the day before putting them in the hearing aid container with proper dehumidifier.
Whenever possible, hearing aid is recommended over a hearing implant. Hearing aids are non-intrusive. Meanwhile, hearing implants may destroy the residual hearing in the ear. With this said, hearing aids require that a user’s ears retain some residual hearing to process the amplified sound (to hear the amplified sound from the hearing aid). One with profound hearing loss will benefit more from cochlear implant.
There are pros and cons to each hearing solution, please consult a qualified Audiologist for an accurate diagnosis of your hearing situation and recommendations on suitable treatment, before making a decision.
Yes, our hearing aids come with warranties. Please consult your audiologist and the manufacturer details to confirm the warranty information before purchasing your hearing aid.
Most hearing problems begin gradually without discomfort or pain, and can be difficult to recognise. Even the people around you (your friends and family members) might have learnt to adapt to your hearing loss without realising it.
Make sure your hearing levels are where they should be, by simply answering “Yes” or “No” to the following questions:
Do you often have?
- Difficulty in following conversations in a noisy environment (i.e. crowded restaurant)?
- Difficulty in hearing the TV or conversations over the phone?
- The experience of hearing people speaks but finding it difficult to understand the words?
- To ask others to raise their voice or come closer in order to hear them?
- Ringing sounds in your ears?
If you answered, “YES” to one or more of the above questions, we recommend consulting a qualified audiologist for a comprehensive hearing assessment.
If you notice a drop in your parents’ hearing, the first step is to sit down with them and let them know what you have observed and your concerns e.g. you wish to communicate with them like before, you’ve noticed a behaviour change. They need to understand a professional hearing assessment is needed to understand the type and nature of their hearing loss and what can be done to improve their hearing. Some hearing loss is reversible such as those caused by impacted earwax while other types can be improved by using a hearing aid.
Today’s advanced digital hearing aids are designed to be easy to use and effective especially for seniors. Besides significant improvements in sound quality especially in noisy situations, modern aids are made rechargeable and are equipped with wireless Bluetooth connectivity. With rechargeability, seniors no longer have to worry about changing the small battery in their hearing aids every week.
With Bluetooth technology, hearing aids now behave like wireless earbuds. Sounds can stream directly from the TV, mobile phone, iPad, etc. to their hearing aids. Their speech intelligibility will improve significantly with the clearer, cleaner sound quality performance.
Aids today are easy and effective to use. It not only improves conversational hearing but also allows individuals to enjoy their favourite TV programs, listen to YouTube on the mobile phone, answer phone calls and even FaceTime with their grandchildren or friends.
Online hearing aid marketing often focuses on the cost and size of the hearing aids. These two factors are likely not the main factors that determine the outcome of the hearing amplification.
The following will help individuals better understand how to select a suitable hearing aid solution.
The first thing to do is to consult a qualified Audiologist for a proper hearing assessment. An experienced Audiologist will be able to explain the test results in an easy-to-understand manner and help you associate your daily listening difficulties to the test results. It is important to understand the degree of impairment and which part of the hearing mechanism is responsible for the hearing loss as some hearing impairments are reversible while others are non-reversible and require a hearing aid to improve hearing.
The degree of hearing loss will directly determine the power of the hearing amplification required and is directly proportional to the size of the hearing aid. In general, the more severe the hearing loss, the bigger the hearing aid(s) that is required.
Discuss with your audiologist:
- your main listening difficulties and concerns
- understand why and how certain technologies are essential to improve your daily hearing needs.
Advanced technologies such as recharge-ability, wireless Bluetooth connectivity are important features in modern digital hearing aids for better hearing and enhance hearing lifestyle. Fortunately, these technologies are also present in basic performance classes of hearing aids which means you may not need to pay a high price for the high-end models to enjoy these features.
For those who prefer completely-in-the-canal invisible hearing aid, the degree of impairment, size, and shape of the ear canal are important deciding factors. An experienced audiologist will be able to advise you on the suitability and limitations.
Both physical and acoustic customisation works for individual hearing needs. This is important as it will directly affect the outcome of the amplification experience. An experienced audiologist will help the affected individual and family to understand and provide advice on the customisation works that are required. Expertise matters and this differentiates the overall hearing amplification experience.
Hearing aid technologies have improved significantly over the last few years. One of the most important features introduced in modern digital hearing aids is wireless Bluetooth connectivity.
Bluetooth technology transforms the hearing aid into a wireless earbud and allows sound to be streamed directly to it. Direct wireless streaming of sound not only makes the technology easy to use, but more importantly optimises the clarity of the amplified sound from TV, mobile phone, iPad, computer etc. Once again individual can enjoy their favourite TV programs, listen to YouTube through the mobile phone, answer phone calls and even FaceTime with their grandchildren or friends through wireless Bluetooth connectivity. Those with severe hearing loss can also benefit from this technology significantly.
During the pandemic period, many of us will need to continue to work from home and conducting online meetings has become a new norm. Our clinical experience made us realised even those with mild hearing loss will start to face difficulty hearing others during the meetings clearly. This affects performance and relationships. Today we can easily overcome this problem with Bluetooth-compatible hearing aids.
Hearing aids today are easy and effective to use and more importantly these features are available in more affordable entry class hearing aid models.