Heredity, old age or excessive exposure to noise can result in sensorineural hearing loss, which surgery cannot reverse. Hearing aids can help.

What should I do in case of hearing loss ?

The first step should be a professional hearing examination by an audiologist, this will help to determine the level and type of your hearing loss. Proper recommendation, medical consultation, or use of hearing instruments will be made. However, only about one-fourth of those who could benefit from the use of a hearing aid actually do so.

How do hearing aids work?

Hearing aids make up for the gap created by a hearing loss by processing and amplifying sound. While there are many different types of hearing aid technology, four basic components are common to them all:

A microphone, which receives sound and translates it into electrical impulses; An amplifier, which makes those electrical impulses stronger; A receiver (speaker), which translates the amplified electrical information back into acoustical sound waves; and A battery, which serves as a power source for the whole system.

Hearing aids vary widely in their styles and levels of circuit technology. The audiologists will help you to choose the right type.

What are the common complaints about hearing aids?

Hearing one's own voice: Hearing aids amplify some or all sounds. This includes sound of your own voice. Your voice may sound different because it is being amplified by hearing aid and also because some of the frequencies in the input signal are filtered.

Hearing whistle sound: There are several common causes of this problem, all of which are easily solved. First, your hearing aid may fit too loosely. This allows the amplified sound to escape from your ear and be picked up again by the microphone, thus resulting in feedback. Second, some feedback happens when you are standing too close to a surface that reflects sound, such as a wall. Finally, many feedback problems are simply the result of a hearing aid's volume control being turned too high. The user can easily remedy most feedback problems. However, if you continue to have a consistent problem with feedback, an audiologist should check your hearing aid.

Pressure in the ear: Sometimes, excess air can become trapped between your eardrum and the hearing aid. If this feeling persists, the audiologist can alter your hearing aid.

Will my hearing aid amplify loud sounds and damage my hearing further ?

Your hearing aid will be preset to a safe level of maximum amplification. However, keep in mind that you may have to re-accustom yourself to loud startling sounds as they are amplified by your hearing aid.

What are the adaptations necessary with a hearing aid?

It is not possible for a hearing aid to completely restore your hearing. What it can do is enhance sound and thus allow you to hear better. Since hearing loss is gradual, over the years, you may have become unaccustomed to normal environmental sounds such as traffic noise, the hum of a refrigerator or air conditioner, nature sounds, or background conversation. Therefore, when you begin to wear a hearing aid, it is necessary to practice selective listening and learn once again to choose only those sounds, which you wish to hear and ignore the rest. It is important that you wear your hearing aids as much as possible. This is the best way for you to get used to them. This also helps you to recognise sound direction, learn what hearing aid settings work best in different situations, and use visual clues in difficult hearing environments.

Why prices of similar looking hearing aids differ ?

Hearing aid shells look alike, but it's the circuit inside that you are paying for. The least expensive circuits are Class A, moderately priced circuits are Class D, and the most expensive circuits are Digital and Programmable.

What is the best brand of hearing aid ?

There are over 28 major hearing aid manufacturers, each producing exceptional quality products. Which brand is right for you is determined by the results of your audiogram, your lifestyle, your cosmetic requirements and your dexterity. Audiologists select the brand only after selecting the type of circuit best for your individual hearing loss as indicated by your audiogram.

What is the difference in the various types of hearing aid circuits ?

The conventional Class A circuit amplifies each sound equally, while the other types of circuits automatically manage loud sounds and quiet sounds in different ways. The goal of advanced, digital and programmable circuits is to deliver a natural loudness throughout your entire listening range without under-amplifying or over-amplifying the sound.

Why are people reluctant to use hearing aids ?

Different persons react differently to the use of a hearing aid. If the hearing impairment is of the sensorineural or nerve type, the person can hear speech sounds if they are loud enough but cannot understand what is being said. It is true that speech must be comfortably loud to permit the listener to understand to his full capability. But making speech increasingly louder will not necessarily lead to a corresponding improvement in discrimination because the hearing nerve has become less sensitive to the acoustic differences of speech sounds. Because the prime function of an aid is to amplify sounds, some users of these instruments continue to experience difficulty in understanding in spite of increasing the loudness levels. Another problem for a new hearing aid user is to adjust to the surrounding noise. People have very high expectations and expect to hear like a normal individual while using these devices. When the quality of amplified sound does not match their expectations, they discard these devices.

By C.G. Asha, Speech Pathologist and Audiologist