Do Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids Cause Hearing Loss?

Every year, Paula Falk receives an influx of calls from adult children concerned about the decline of their elderly parents. “They visited at the holidays and saw the reality of their parents’ situation, which is much different than what Mom or Dad had been describing on the phone,” says Falk, director of caregiving services at the Friendship Centers in Sarasota, Florida.

Source: Health / usnews.com / Senior Care / Caregiving 

One major concern for seniors is hearing loss.

Last year the Senate approved a bill that would allow over-the-counter (OTC) sale of hearing aids.  This is great news if you or your senior parents, already know what type of hearing aid is best.  For the those of you outside of this group, there are a few things you should know before you buy an over the counter hearing aid – hearing devices for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss can purchase directly at a local retailer or online.

• An estimated 30 million people in the U.S. have a hearing loss, and selecting the most suitable hearing solution can be a critical factor in achieving a balanced life. 

• The new hearing aid law will obviously make hearing aids more accessible, but this could mean some people with hearing loss could inadvertently buy the wrong hearing aid.  

Hearing Aid Fitting

If a hearing aid is not properly fitted, it’s common (and likely) that the ability to hear will gradually worsen throughout that period of time.  The solution for hearing loss starts with being evaluated by a licensed Audiologist who can properly program hearing aids for your specific hearing loss is a critically important step any senior or caregiver should take before considering an over-the-counter hearing aid.

Consumers and Hearing Loss 

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, an industry group, maintains that while this new category of aids will help some people with mild hearing losses, "the best approach for consumers to address hearing loss is to seek the services of a licensed and certified audiologist,” says Jaynee A. Handelsman, Ph.D., ASHA’s past president and director of pediatric audiology at Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan.

Do Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids Cause Hearing Loss?  

Only your Audiologist can answer this question.  Achieve Hearing can test your hearing and help you determine the cause of your hearing loss.  If you feel that your hearing has gotten worse since using your Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids, Achieve Hearing can help you get to the root of your hearing loss. Visit our website to schedule an appointment or call 972.608.0416.

Achieve Hearing & Rehabilitation is a speech and hearing clinic with locations in Plano and Dallas, Texas. We offer speech-language pathology and audiological services to children and adults of all ages, and resources to help you target your specific speech therapy needs.  If you or someone you know demonstrates any signs stuttering, please call us at 972-608-0416 to discuss how Achieve can help. 

Achieve a balanced life.

Test Results for Different Types of Hearing Aids

“There are specific types of hearing aids for differing types of hearing loss and individual preferences.”– Michael Gehan, Audiologist, Achieve Hearing & Rehabilitation

Your local audiologist can test your hearing to determine if you need a hearing aid or have hearing loss.

Types of hearing aids for different types of hearing loss:

• Analog Hearing Aids – uses transistor technology and consists of a microphone, amplifier and receiver.

• Digitally Programmable Hearing Aids - capable of adjustments in audiologist office by connecting hearing aid to a computer system.  The sound processing is NOT digital.

“Our product testers unanimously agree that digitally-programmable analog hearing aids are not equivalent in performance to our top-rated fully-digital hearing aids.” –Texas D.A.R.S. - Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services

• Fully Digital Hearing Aids - The Central Processing Unit, CPU, can look backward in time and make decisions about what is unwanted noise and what is the desired speech signal, thus this kind of hearing aid is more desirable when confronting background noise.

• Directional Microphones - More sensitive to sounds arriving in front of the listener than to those arriving from the back or sides.  Fitting these on a hearing aid requires a skilled audiologist, as directional microphones are finicky.  Some sophisticated fully digital hearing aids do constant calibration of the two microphones so that the hearing aid’s noise reduction capabilities are always functioning properly.

“When both the background noise and the desired speaker of interest  are in front of you, directional microphones can not help you.” –Texas D.A.R.S. - Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services 

• Automatic Noise Reduction - Fully digital hearing aids have the capability of reducing noise that does not vary in pitch or loudness over time, i.e. the roar of your car tires becomes softer as you continue to drive (because this noise is a constant and does not vary much in pitch or loudness).

• Multi-Memory Fully Digital Hearing Aids - Multiple memories (or programs) are set for various listening characteristics.  One program may be set for quiet, one for noise and one for telephone, for example. Most of the digital hearing aids tested by this group had more than one program.

• Multichannel Fully Digital Hearing Aids - These break incoming sounds into multiple chunks, called channels, which make automatic noise reduction and hearing aid fine-tuning more effective. 

“Most Manufacturers will have 5 to 6 levels of technology. These levels typically dictate the price of the hearing aid. Ranging from lowest price (Entry) to highest price (Premium)”– Michael Gehan, Audiologist, Achieve Hearing & Rehabilitation

Achieve Hearing & Rehabilitation (AHR) is located in Plano, Texas and establishes individualized relationships with patients. AHR can employ a state-of-the-art hearing aid and auditory testing to provide you the best method of treatment for your hearing problems.  To speak to an audiologist please call 972-608-0416 today.

Reference: 
Texas D.A.R.S. - Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services