If you still have an old-fashioned ear trumpet in hand than clearly, it’s time to upgrade. When you wear conventional hearing aids, making that call is more difficult. You purchased your hearing aids a decade ago, and they still get the job done, right?
Maybe you are better off having older hearing aids than not having one, what’s the real cost? In the past few years, hearing aids have dramatically advanced. It’s advanced from analog to digital, for one thing, and there are functions now that weren’t even in the design phase a decade ago. Why should you be thinking about an upgrade? Here are some good reasons.
Old Hearing Aids Are Not Very Reliable
Lower quality or older hearing aids frequently have an annoying buzzing sound. And it’s always a great time when you get close to a phone and your hearing aid starts to feedback. At times that high pitched feedback comes from nowhere, too. What caused it this time?
You’ve Become Desensitized to its Low Quality
You’ve become accustomed to wondering why the sound of traffic is so noisy or to going off quietly while everybody else has stimulating discussions. Remember the time your grandchild performed a beautiful song for you, but you only heard every other word because your hearing aids kept cutting out. You still clapped, though.
All of these are weaknesses connected with old hearing aids. Ten years ago the focus was on raising the volume. Nowadays, undesirable noise can be filtered out and modern hearing aids can do many other truly amazing things.
The Old Ones Are Bleeding Money
When you’re considering a hearing aid upgrade, cost is a major consideration. You will have to make a preliminary purchase with new hearing aids but older ones will also be costly over time. You will be constantly replacing batteries with an analog hearing aid. If you are purchasing new batteries on a daily basis, or even more often than that, the costs add up.
Repair costs can also be very high with out dated hearing aids. If you think of your hearing aid as a 1992 Buick, you’ll get the point. It’s in the repair shop more than it is in your ear and repairs expensive.
Smart Technology is a Thing Now
Many modern hearing aids have Bluetooth capabilities. An analog hearing aid won’t have that feature. Having Bluetooth integrated into your digital hearing aid means that it’s compatible with your phone, your computer, maybe even your television (unless they’re a decade old, too.)
Communication is The Key to Everything
Studies reveal that hearing loss can mean a lower paycheck. So it’s obvious that it would be a benefit to your career if you had newer hearing aids. You will be able to hear customers and your boss better. You won’t have to be concerned about missing some essential information or if your hearing aid battery will die when you need it most.
And obviously you will have a better quality of life if you have good communication skills. You don’t have to sit like a wallflower in the middle of discussions anymore. Don’t hesitate to get right in and connect with others.
You Really Want a More Stylish Looking Hearing Aid
What do you think when you look at yourself in the mirror with that old hearing aid? Awkward? Totally obvious? Oh my god? One of the most considerable perks that come with upgrading old hearing aids is flexibility and design. You can get hearing aids in many colors, shapes, and sizes these days. You can wear a visible one in your favorite color or a discrete one hidden from sight inside your ear.
How to Know That it’s Time to Upgrade
Now you understand all the reasons why you should want a hearing aid upgrade, but not what to specifically look for that says your device may end up being called an antique. The time has come and here are the signs:
- Your hearing has changed. Even when you have the hearing aids in your ears, it seems as if you don’t hear as well.
- Your life has changed, and your hearing aid has a difficult time keeping up. It’s annoying to take it out just to use the phone, or perhaps you got a new job and now have to deal with more background noise.
- Your hearing aid randomly cuts out. It’s just not dependable anymore, and that’s a problem.
- You know for a fact your hearing aid is analog. You should go digital as soon as you can.
- Your hearing aid feels heavy. Analog hearing aids weigh a lot.
- Your hearing aid is the only thing you see when you look in a mirror. That old technology occupies a lot of space, also.
- You constantly need to replace the batteries. Contemporary hearing aids are more energy efficient, and many come with rechargeable batteries.
It isn’t rocket science. It’s time to replace your hearing aids if they’re more than 7 years old.