Technology changes: 10 years ago, flip phones were a big thing with the cell phone crowd. Now it’s smartphones, which offer capabilities so much more vast than anything flip phones could ever do. Smartphones make our lives easier in a number of ways and have replaced a lot of other devices because they are convenient, can save us time, and often serve many purposes in our daily lives.
Hearing aids have had a similar trajectory. The technology has gotten more advanced, so new hearing aids have much more to offer than older technology. Are you still using the “flip phone of hearing aids”? If so, it may be time for an upgrade. Here are three signs that you could use a technology update.
YOUR HEARING HAS CHANGED
The human body has many regenerative properties, but lost hearing can’t be repaired. Hearing loss is permanent, and as time goes on, age-related factors can lead your hearing loss to increase. Diminished hearing can also make it harder to understand speech and sound with your current devices. Annual hearing checks can help our staff keep track of changes to your hearing, and if you find your hearing aids are no longer performing the way you need them to, it may be time to get technology that can compensate for the more recent changes in your hearing.
YOUR LIFESTYLE HAS CHANGED
Changes in occupational and professional requirements, living situations, and outside interests significantly impact what you might need your hearing aids to do. A lifestyle change often requires improved performance from your hearing aids, and an active lifestyle means being in many environments where hearing can be difficult. Today’s technology focuses on hearing speech in background noise, and this year there have been vast improvements. Some devices even have the ability to save personalized settings for specific locations and environments, allowing you to focus on the conversation at hand, not on your hearing aids.
IMPROVED PERFORMANCE
Today’s hearing aids give you more control over settings, functionality, and appearance. New advancements offer wireless streaming capability for music and phone calls, the option to save specific environmental settings that change automatically each time you return to that location, the ability to remotely adjust volume and program settings, and more. Today’s devices also communicate better with one another, are more comfortable, have increased power capabilities, remove feedback or whistling, and may even be engineered for protection against water, sweat, and oil, which reduces the need for repairs.