Atlanta Hearing Loss Treatment FAQ

Today's hearing aids are made with sophisticated, cutting-edge technology that is vastly improved over the equipment that was available even just a few years ago. But your hearing aids still must be adjusted correctly to your unique condition to get the best hearing improvement from them. To make sure your experience with your hearing aids is what you want it to be, follow these tips:

Choose an experienced, qualified provider

The purchase of a hearing aid should be based on the merit of the service provider and not on the product. If the hearing healthcare provider has been chosen carefully, the product will be chosen with thought and intention and reflect the needs of the patient. A money back guarantee or trial period should be considered standard.

Choose the right provider and the chances of a successful outcome are high; choose a product and the chances of a successful outcome are random. Also, choose a hearing healthcare provider with longevity in your community, because longevity indicates both stability and is an example of the provider's commitment to patients.

Ask for references

Ask your friends and acquaintances about the hearing aid professionals in the community where they purchased their devices, and listen carefully to their experiences with their audiologists, physicians or hearing aid dispensers. Professional reputation in the community carries a powerful message, and patients that have received excellent patient care will tell others.

Choose an independent provider

Avoid practices that represent or are affiliated with only one manufacturer (such as Beltone, Mirace Ear, Audibel, Starkey). These practices represent the manufacturer, and may not provide unbiased advice on choosing a hearing aid device.

Check credentials

Check the credentials of any prospective service provider. In the State of Georgia, all service providers for hearing aids require a license. Determine what type of license (such as a dispenser's license or audiology license) your provider has earned.

Consider auditory/listening training

The best practices provide resources for auditory training. Hearing aids can not completely restore hearing function and many patients can benefit from listening training to improve their ability to hear in difficult listening environments.

Don't assume smaller hearing aids are always better

Be practical when using choosing the size of the hearing aid and place function as a higher priority over size. Although most patients prefer a smaller hearing aid to a larger hearing aid, the smallest hearing aids lack features that can provide benefit from background noise. Open hearing aid fittings provide an excellent substitute for the smallest size and do not compromise function for the sake of cosmetics.