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Six Myths About Hearing Aids

Modern hearing aids have helped make it possible for people with hearing loss to enjoy music, conversation and the sounds of nature. However, there are limitations to what hearing aids can do for you as well as a lot of misinformation being disseminated on the Web and even by medical personnel. It's important to know the truth vs. the myths before you go shopping for hearing aids for you or a family member.

What's true and what's false about hearing aids

1. Hearing aids restore your hearing. Unlike eyeglasses, hearing aids do not restore normal hearing function. What they do is amplify and filter sound so that the wearer is better able to communicate, hear and distinguish the sounds around him or her.

2. You only need one hearing aid if your hearing is better in one ear than the other. While one hearing aid will certainly improve your communication, it's really best to have two aids. Just as a person gets balanced vision by using two eyes, wearing hearing aids in each ear will help you better discern where sound is coming from and who is speaking. It also helps with clarity.

3. Wearing hearing aids can actually make your hearing worse. This is urban myth and totally false. A well-fitted and professionally-adjusted hearing aid will not damage your hearing.

4. You have to have a major hearing loss to benefit from hearing aids. Again, this is false. Just as eyeglasses can help improve a variety of vision problems, hearing aids can assist people with mild, moderate and severe hearing loss. There's no reason to wait until you have severe hearing loss to get fitted for hearing aids.

5. Hearing aids are only suitable for older people. Nearly six million Americans between the ages of 18 and 44 have hearing loss. In fact, only 35 percent of Americans with hearing loss are age 65 or older. Hearing loss affects people of all ages.

6. Hearing loss is a normal part of aging. While this can be true (at least for one third of the population), that doesn't mean that your hearing and communication abilities can't be improved dramatically by using hearing aids.

Hearing aids can help individuals with hearing impairment communicate more effectively and be able to enjoy things like music and television broadcasts more easily. However, it's important to know a little bit about what is and what is not true about hearing aids before you invest. For more information, contact companies like The Audiology Centre Inc. 


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