Hearing aids are incredible, sophisticated devices that can give those with hearing loss a new lease on life. Living with hearing loss can present a lot of challenges, but the modern hearing aids found in today’s market promise to solve these issues for you. Of course, though, hearing aids usually come with a range of controls, and these can be confusing to those who haven’t encountered them before. Let’s take a look at the controls you’ll typically find on your hearing aids, making it easier for you to locate and use them correctly.
The controls you have
Hearing aids from different manufacturers may have slightly different layouts for their controls, and some will even have options that don’t exist on other products. With this in mind, you can find some of the most commonly found hearing aid controls below, along with some information to help you to use them properly.
- On/Off: Turning your hearing off can help to conserve battery power and increase the lifespan of your hearing aid. Most modern hearing aids do not have dedicated power switches, with an automatic switch activating when you open the battery door. This means that opening the battery door is enough to turn off your hearing aid.
- Volume: Hearing aids are designed to work for people with a range of hearing loss issues. To accomadate this wide spectrum of hearing ability, volume controls are available in the form of a rocker on most hearing aids. This gives you the ability to raise and lower the volume depending on the situation you find yourself in.
- Program: Hearing aids use tiny computers to process the sounds you hear, using special algorithms to ensure that the output is accurate. Different programs can be used for specific environments, enabling you to tailor your hearing aid’s performance to the environment that you’re in.
The buttons on your hearing aid tend to be small and hard to find. If you need help with your hearing aid controls, it is well worth talking to your audiologist, as they will be able to provide advice that will enable you to get the most out of your hearing aid.
Hearing aid programs
As mentioned above, hearing aids come equipped with special programs that enable you to change the way that they perform. Many hearing aids have an automatic setting for this, and this means that you may not need to manually adjust your hearing aid at all. Manual controls will usually still be in place so that you can take control when you need to.
- Directional programs: Directional programs enable you to set your hearing aid to focus on the sound that is directly in front of you. This is ideal for use in parties or restaurants, while also being a good touch when you are in other noisy environments. Controls like this make it possible to focus on a single person’s speech.
- Telecoil loop programs: Business and government buildings will often have special loops fitted that make it easier to hear specific sounds (ie a bank clerk talking to you), and you can find phones that also use telecoil loops. This gives you the power to cut out all other sounds.
- Music programs: Most hearing aid programs prioritize speech, making music sound a little strange. Music programs solve this, giving you a natural experience with the music you listen to.
- Driving programs: Driving programs are used to cut out the low-pitch hum of your car when you are driving, but they can also be useful when in other environments with a lot of background noise.
Learning to use these programs effectively can make your hearing aid experience a lot better. There are many options on the market that include these programs, and there are more being developed all the time. As time goes on, it wouldn’t be surprising if hearing aids start to feature basic AI to figure out how to output the right sounds.
Getting some help
Hearing aid calibration can be a challenging process that requires an expert touch, and most people aren’t able to do this for themselves without some help. Here at Hear Again America, our friendly team of audiologists can help you make sure you’re using your hearing aid correctly. Alongside this, we can also provide a range of hearing tests and treatments, and you need only give us a call at (877) 905-9493 to get started.