Hearing aids are just that, Aids.  They aid the hearing that you have.  The ear is an extremely complex system, and unlike the eyes and glasses, hearing aids cannot restore normal hearing (unless you have a purely conductive hearing loss).  Not only do your ears have to be able to receive the signal, they have to send the signal via the nerve up to the brain.  The auditory centers of the brain have to process it.  A hearing aid can only provide a clear, strong signal, emphasizing the tones you have been missing.  After it provides the signal, its job is done.  The ear has takes this signal and works with it to the best of its ability.

Factors Involved in a Successful Hearing Aid Fitting

When you hear someone say, “ I tried hearing aids and they don’t work”, please remember that no two people have the same hearing loss.  Even if their audiograms look exactly the same, their brains will process sounds differently, as mentioned above.  What works for one person, may not work for another.  Fear of the unknown can be overwhelming.  Personal Motivation to improve their hearing is everything.  Other critical factors include the following:

• Speech discrimination ability  (see below) 
• Type and degree of hearing loss  
• The choice in hearing aid style and technology 
• The skill and knowledge of the hearing aid professional
• The relationship built with the hearing aid professional
• Availability of your hearing aid professional
• Adaptability

It is a very personal experience, and one you can’t be sure of until you try.   It is a process.  You are retraining your brain to hear again.  Be prepared to work closely with me during the 4-6 week trail period.  Tell your hearing professional of any problems you are having; many can be corrected.  When paired with an audiologist that you trust, you can have a good, informed experience and decide for yourself if hearing aids are right for you.  If you do not feel you are getting worthwhile cost/benefit from your aids, you can return them by the end of your trial period.  

Hearing aids have changed tremendously in the past 10 years, with the use of microchip technology and the miniaturization of all things electronic. Hearing aids are not a perfect solution but they are the best option available to allow you to reconnect with the world around you and be at your best. 

Speech Discrimination Ability

When we lose hearing sensitivity in the ear, we often lose the clarity too.  If the hearing system is damaged to the point that it does not transfer the signal to the brain clearly, even with the best hearing aid on the market, you will still miss some of what was said.  Often, if hearing loss has been neglected for many years, the brain can lose some of its ability to recognize speech sounds, worsening the speech discrimination ability.  Research has shown that the brain can improve it’s processing of speech sounds, and discrimination ability can get better over time.  A commitment to the process of improving your hearing is essential. 

Naturally, speech understanding becomes more difficult when in noisy environments.  If you have a hearing loss with speech discrimination problems, you still need hearing aids in order to hear well, but you may still miss some of the words.  Without the aids, the words will not be strong enough to hear, much less understand, when in noise.  However, hearing aids of the recent past were unable to help hearing in noise very effectively.

Today, technology has advanced to the point where it can help hearing in noise better than ever by using dual or directional microphones. These microphones work together to help separate the sounds coming at you from the sounds behind or to the side of you. Still, there is no way for a hearing aid to know exactly what sounds you want to hear and what sounds you don’t and so there will still be some trouble when in noise.  This is true for normal hearing people as well.