No matter the season, everyone enjoys heading outside every now and then to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air. If you have hearing loss, you may be wondering if there are hearing aids available to accommodate your active lifestyle. Or, if you already wear hearing aids, you may be wondering how to safely wear them during your outdoor adventures.
No matter what hearing aid you choose, you should remember to keep it safe and secure while outdoors with an OtoClip! Watch the video below to see how an OtoClip is used and to get more tips on wearing hearing aids outdoors - and continue reading below for tips on choosing the right hearing aid for your outdoor lifestyle!
The good news is that there are hearing aids designed for those who enjoy exploring nature, watching their favorite baseball team, or singing along at that local outdoor concert. To choose the best hearing aids for outdoors, here are three questions to ask yourself during your selection process.
1. Does your lifestyle expose you to many listening environments?
When you have normal hearing, your ears automatically reacclimate to help you hear your best in each listening environment you enter. Hearing aids, however, are designed to amplify all sounds. But with the help of program settings, your hearing aids can adjust to the listening environment you’re in.
That being said, your level of activity will strongly influence the number of program settings you will need from your hearing aids. If you lead a very active lifestyle, it’s very likely that you find yourself in a wide variety of listening environments. As such, for the best sound quality, you’d likely benefit from a hearing aid that includes at least three program settings.
2. Do the places you go to have a lot of background noise?
The next thing you will need to determine is the level of background noise present in your most frequent listening environments. For instance, if you enjoy attending sporting events with roaring crowds, or taking hikes where wind noise may be present, you may benefit from background noise reduction.
Hearing aids with background noise reduction help you to hone in on the sounds you want to hear, such as your friend’s voice amongst the background noise in a restaurant. Some hearing aids offer greater background noise reduction than others. In this way, if your hearing aids have enough bands of background noise reduction to support your lifestyle.
Fun fact: Smaller hearing aids are often the best fit for outdoor situations, as the outer ear acts as a barrier to background noise, such as wind noise.
3. How long will you need to wear your hearing aids each day?
To accommodate every lifestyle, there are a variety of hearing aid styles available. If you need to wear your hearing aids most of the day, you’ll want to choose a style that can provide comfort for extended periods of time.
For all-day hearing aid wearers, smaller hearing aids are often preferred (unless you have a more severe hearing loss). As lightweight devices, they are often less noticeable for the wearer. Moreover, behind-the-ear hearing aids allow you to change your tubes and domes, making it easy to further customize the comfort and fit of your device.
What is the Best Hearing Aid for Outdoors?
At Advanced Affordable Hearing, our mission is to help people hear better at a price you can afford. We understand that every person has their own unique hearing loss, lifestyle, and budget, which is why we offer a wide variety of hearing aids for you to choose from.
To help you choose a hearing aid that is right for you, contact us today. We are happy to assist you in picking a device that is right for your hearing loss and lifestyle!