For many of us, watching television is a favorite pastime. Whether it be your favorite news channel or TV series, watching TV is a great way to bring a long day to a close or spend time with loved ones. However, watching TV can become less enjoyable if you have hearing loss.
These days, you may find yourself turning the TV volume to the highest setting just to get a remote idea of what the newscasters are saying. Unfortunately, if you’re watching TV with others, they may become frustrated because the high TV volume hurts their ears.
Sound familiar? If so, there’s a better way to hear your favorite television program, as well as those beloved conversations with your friends and family: Start wearing hearing aids! Let’s break down how they can make hearing easier and life more enjoyable.
1. They amplify sound in a way that’s comfortable to you.
It goes without saying that hearing aids are designed to amplify sound. Most cases of hearing loss are sensorineural, which means that the loss resulted from damage to the inner ear. Unfortunately, once this damage occurs, it’s irreparable. Instead, you can accommodate the hearing you have left by amplifying sounds with the help of a hearing aid.
Perhaps more importantly, however, is that hearing aids allow you to hear in a way that’s comfortable to you. For example, instead of turning up the volume of your TV and bothering your loved ones, you can adjust the volume of your device to your preference. In most cases, to do so, simply turn a dial (see the HC12) or push a “rocker” button (see the HC206).
Other models offer more highly customizable volume control, like the HCEQ. As a smartphone-controlled device, you can adjust volume with an app. Moreover, this device comes with BlueTooth technology. In this way, you can stream the sound from your TV directly into ears for an even better listening experience.
What’s that? If things aren’t sounding as clear as they used to, check out these 12 Signs You Might Need Hearing Aids.
2. They help to keep the background noise to a minimum.
Consider this: You and your friends have decided to go bowling. When you arrive, you don’t only hear the voices of your friends chatting and cheering when someone gets a strike. There may also be bowling balls crashing into pins, other groups chatting, and perhaps even some background music.
With normal hearing, your ears can hone in on the important sounds, such as your friends’ voices. However, with hearing loss, this can become more difficult. In this way, instead of amplifying every sound around you, your hearing aids will need to minimize the background noise.
Most devices can do this through background noise reduction features. For example, the HCX keeps the background noise to a minimum with its 10 bands of layered noise reduction. Other models may offer multiple forms of background noise, such as:
- Speech Priority Reduction for separating speech from other noise
- Impulse Noise Reduction for toning down unexpected sounds
- Soft Noise Reduction for reducing quite but distracting sounds
The amount of background noise reduction you need will depend on your lifestyle. If you spend a majority of your time in less noisy environments, you may only need some background noise reduction. However, if you are regularly in more noisy listening environments, greater background noise reduction may be necessary.
In addition to helping you hear better, here are 4 Ways Hearing Aids Improve Your Quality of Life.
3. They offer different programs for different situations.
With normal hearing, your ears will naturally acclimate to the environments you’re in. Nevertheless, these capabilities become marred with hearing loss. With this in mind, the type of background noise you’re experiencing can present additional challenges.
For example, when you’re at home watching TV, there are likely fewer sounds for your TV to compete with. On the other hand, at a restaurant, there are likely other people chatting along with plates banging in the background. In this environment, your hearing aids will need to do more to hone in on the most crucial sounds.
With this in mind, you may need a device that can be adjusted based on the listening environments you’re in. These adjustments can be made with program settings. For instance, the HCEQ comes with 4 program settings:
- Normal Everday for one-on-one conversations, music, and TV
- Noise Reduction for restaurants or places of worship
- Significant Noise Reduction for events with large crowds
- Wind Noise Reduction for outdoor or windy situations
By choosing the appropriate setting for your listening environment, you will have a better chance of tuning into the right sounds. As mentioned, the number of program settings you will need depends on the activities you most often participate in. Be sure to check if the program settings of the device you’re considering align with your lifestyle.
Ready to Start Your Journey to Better Hearing?
The first step you should take is to identify your level of hearing loss by visiting this Online Hearing Check. While this check certainly won’t an audiogram, it will give you a general idea of your loss.
For more information, give us a call at 1 (800) 804-0434 .