Are Behind The Ear Hearing Aids Best?

When choosing a hearing aid with the help of your specialist, there are two categories you will find that devices fall into. One is (ITE) In The Ear hearing aid and the other is, (BTE) Behind The Ear hearing aid. As the name suggests, the majority of the device rests behind the ear, with the microphone and receiver positioned alone inside it. But what are the benefits?

Pros

BTE devices are highly popular. They have a range of advantages to consider:

  • Comfortable to wear. BTE hearing aids are very comfortable to wear, and you don’t have to worry about direct contact with the ear canal (which some users find uncomfortable or odd to experience).
  • Easy maintenance. As BTE devices do not come in direct contact with the ear canal, most users find they are far easier to maintain than in-the-ear (ITE) or in-the-canal (ITC) options. If you want a hearing aid that’s going to be easy to live with, then a BTE device might be the best choice for you.
  • Minimal feedback. The internal components of BTE hearing aids are more distanced from one another, which makes feedback less of a problem for users.
  • Bluetooth with smart phone compatibility are great features to have that BTE style hearing aids offer.  You can use an app on your smart phone to control the hearing aids volume and settings.
  • BTE can give more Head Room or “Room to Grow” by giving the option to add a more powerful speaker to them in the future if the need arises.

Cons

Of course, where there are advantages, there are disadvantages. No hearing aid choice is without some drawbacks so here are a few factors worth considering:

  • Less discreet. If you’re concerned about onlookers being able to see your hearing aid, then BTE options are less discreet than other options. As they sit directly outside the ear, they are more liable to be noticed by other people. If discretion is important then you would want to consider an IIC Or ITC option.
  • Wind noise. Users of BTE devices are more liable to experience issues with wind noise when using their hearing aid in open spaces
  • Masks have become something to pay attention to as well.  Having to remove a mask may cause the wearer to lose the hearing aid if they are not careful.

Choosing your hearing aid is not a decision that should be made lightly. You will be relying on it a lot, after all. No device is 100% perfect for every user, there are some that may fit your needs better than others. The pros and cons above might help you decide but choosing with the help of an audiologist who knows your circumstances is always wise.

CALL NOW: 843-839-1936

Does Insurance Cover Hearing Aids?

Why do most insurance providers exclude coverage for hearing aids?

They’re not considered essential medical devices. Instead, they’re deemed “elective” – chosen, rather than urgently necessary.

“Elective” Coverage for Hearing Aids is a problem

Hearing aids are a lifeline. They help people with hearing loss communicate with loved ones, coworkers, they help stay safe in everyday situations, and are a know preventative measure of cognitive issues like Dementia , Alzheimer’s and Depression as they age. They can improve a person’s quality of life, affecting nearly every aspect of their day-to-day routine. More than 50 percent of people over the age of 75 suffer from hearing loss, and for these individuals, hearing aids are far from elective.

If you would consider how dramatically a  hearing loss could influence a person’s health and happiness, it’s difficult to understand how insurers could say that they’re nonessential and not worthy of insurance coverage. Not surprisingly, the issue extends beyond whether hearing aids are necessary or elective. It’s also about insurance companies risk vs. reward.

The Risk vs Reward
An Insurance company works by spreading the cost of health services over a large group of people so that members can pay a reasonable amount and still receive coverage. The insurance company profits when individuals pay for coverage but do not file any claims. Unfortunately, that makes individuals with hearing loss a serious risk for insurance companies. Individuals with hearing loss are very likely to file insurance claims to help pay for hearing aids, which can cost thousands of dollars. Hearing aids also require replacement every five years, which is an additional expense for the insurance provider.

As it stands,  insurance companies are less likely to make a profit on high-risk individuals like those with hearing loss. This is a  major reason why they’re less likely to offer coverage for hearing aids. Even if insurance companies do eventually provide coverage for hearing devices, they will have a major impact on the pricing of hearing devices and services, setting lower allowed contractual amounts for what can be billed.

If you have questions or would like us to find out if your insurance has a benefit for hearing please call us at 843-839-2389\ to schedule an appointment.

Why Can I Hear But Not Understand?

One comment we hear time and time again is, “I can hear people talking, but I can’t understand what they’re saying”.

Three reasons why this might be happening.

High frequency hearing loss

High frequency loss makes it difficult to understand the articulated high pitch consonant sounds that help you understand whether someone said, face and space. Those subtle sounds are important in order to correctly understand what someone is saying.

Our brains are very smart. The brain will use lip reading cues to determine the right letter but sometimes doesn’t always get it right.

Correcting with hearing aids is the best way to attain clarity to hear those sounds you are missing.

Noisy Environments

A second reason you may have trouble hearing what people say is because of a noisy environment. Even people without a hearing loss can struggle to hear someone when it is noisy.

This is known as the Cocktail Party Effect where competing sounds make it difficult for you to follow a single conversation.

Directional microphones in hearing aids combined with the computer processing that prioritizes delivering speech to your ears. These are a must have feature in modern hearing aids.

The brains ability to process sound

The third reason may not be your ears, your ears may be working just fine. The issue might be auditory deprivation. To understand words it is necessary to hear all the speech sounds, transmit them to the brain, and decode the meaning. If anything disrupts this sequence it is likely that you will hear but not understand.

This means the sound is going into your ears just fine but your brain is having trouble interpreting what you hear into things you can understand.

Over time people with a hearing loss can become less engaged in social environments. They may also switch off from life which results in depression, social isolation and increases risk of Alzheimer’s or Dementia.

If you are or have been experiencing difficulty hearing CALL NOW and take the first steps you need to find out if you are a candidate for hearing aids. Absolute Hearing Care Centers are happy to offer a FREE consultation and give you all the information you need to make an informed decision.

CALL NOW: 843-839-1936