How to Know if It’s Time for New Hearing Aids

Older man thinking about new hearing aids

You’ve just returned home from a neighborhood gathering. While you had a good time chatting with friends, there were more than a few times that you struggled to understand what was said. Knowing if it’s time to get new hearing aids is almost as complicated as knowing when to get your first pair of hearing aids. Sometimes you seem to hear just fine, and other times you know you struggle to understand what is said. But just like the first time you were fit with hearing aids, you’re left wondering if what you are experiencing is normal or if there is a problem.

Your First Step

Routine maintenance of your hearing aids can both prolong the life of the hearing aids and uncover any problems that may not be allowing them to function properly. Your first step should be to contact us for an appointment to have your hearing aids assessed. This is particularly important if it has been a while since your hearing aids have been professionally cleaned and checked.

Once we determine that your hearing aids are clean and working optimally, we can discuss your current hearing needs. We’ll discuss your lifestyle and help you to determine if your hearing aids are truly meeting your hearing needs. We may suggest a quick hearing screening to determine if your hearing levels are stable.

If the screening indicates that your hearing levels have changed, we suggest scheduling a more comprehensive hearing evaluation to assess the changes. Modifications can often be made to the hearing aids to accommodate the changes in your hearing levels. However, there is a limit to the changes that can be made. Those limits may mean it’s time to make a change.

Why Would New Hearing Aids be Needed?

There are several reasons why your current hearing aids may need to be replaced. Below are a few of the most common reasons.

  • Your existing hearing aids are beyond repair.
  • Your custom-fit hearing aids no longer fit. Weight gain, weight loss, and the effects of aging can change the size and shape of the ear canal.
  • Your hearing needs have changed, and the hearing aids cannot be adjusted to meet those needs.
  • You decide to explore more sophisticated technology that was not available when you were fit with your latest hearing aids.

Beyond needing to replace your current hearing aids, exploring the latest technological advances is advantageous. Our ability to hear is based on a series of complex interconnected events. Aiding this complex system when it fails to work properly is equally complex. Fortunately, innovative technological advances are constantly being introduced, allowing users to experience significant improvements in many areas that older technology did not adequately address.