However, with lots of different options on the market for hearing loss treatment, and every website telling you that their version is the best, it’s hard to know who to trust, let alone where to go for treatment.
If you’re reading this and you’ve been stressed about what treatment option would work best for your hearing loss, look no further. Here, we’ll go over the key options available to you, the pros and cons of each and help you get a full understanding of which would be the best choice.
Things to Consider before Looking at Options
Before figuring out which option for treatment would work best for your ears, you should consider a few different aspects – there’s no one size fits all solution to hearing loss!
Things to consider include:
- Your specific hearing loss diagnosis
- Your lifestyle – where do you frequent on a daily basis? How active are you?
- Your budget – are you looking for the best technology available, or would you like a solution
- that won’t break your bank?
- Your priorities – are you looking to work with one local team long term, or are you happy seeing
- multiple different people from a company?
What Are the Options for Treating Hearing Loss?
From low budget to highly advanced tech and to quick fix versus long-term solution, there’s multiple options to choose from when addressing your hearing loss challenge.
Some of these options include:
- Over-the-counter hearing aids
- Online hearing aids with remote support
- Big box retail stores
- Private audiology clinic
Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids
Some hearing aids are available over the counter, which makes for a very accessible quick fix for some hearing loss challenges that aren’t too severe.
We’d equivocate these to buying “readers” from a grocery store; they help in certain situations, but they’re a generic option that won’t help those with more severe hearing loss challenges.
We’re optimistic about how OTC hearing aids can help normalize hearing loss, but self-prescribing solutions to deeper hearing loss issues can cause problems down the line. Without knowing what level of hearing loss you’re dealing with, OTC hearing aids will either help very little or not at all.
Online Hearing Aids with Remote Support
Lots of hearing aid models now have the capability to be ordered online – you take a hearing test on their website, their team of audiologists prescribes hearing aids to you and then they’re shipped to your home for you to fit them yourself. Sounds easy enough, right?
To keep with the glasses comparison, we’d compare these to ordering glasses online after completing an eye test at home. They’re a good quality fix that doesn’t require a doctor’s visit – but there are a few drawbacks.
For any adjustments or needed fixes, you’ll need to make them yourself via their smartphone app or a video call with an audiologist. Reviews for online hearing aids like this also vary from good to poor experiences.
Costco Hearing Centre Hearing Aids
With a Costco Wholesale less than five minutes from our clinic, we often get asked about the difference between Costco’s hearing aids and Nanaimo Hearing Clinic’s devices.
Costco’s hearing centre requires you to have a hearing test to understand the level of your hearing loss, and they have their own branded hearing aids to offer with warranties up to three years. They’re a step in the right direction compared to purchasing online.
However, if you lose or damage your devices, repairing or replacing them can be a long process that’ll leave you without them for a long time. Receiving follow-up care can prove difficult due to Costco’s retail environment, and some people often wait weeks before receiving support.
So, how does that compare to us?
Local Audiology Clinic
This is what’s considered the traditional approach; to continue our glasses comparison, this is equal to visiting an optometrist, getting your eyes tested and receiving glasses from them in-clinic.
You’ll receive a comprehensive hearing assessment that checks your overall hearing health, not just your hearing levels, and your audiologist will explore your options with you to see what you need to succeed.
Many private audiology clinics partner with manufacturers of advanced hearing aid technology, so you’ll have access to the latest tech without limitations, and your hearing aids will be professionally fitted.
Alongside professional care for several years after your initial hearing test—including ear cleanings, repairs and readjustments to your prescription as needed—you’ll never go without your devices that help you hear the life you love most.
We may be biased… but we believe that this is the most in-depth and detailed option if you have any form of hearing loss, as you’ll be able to fully understand your levels of hearing loss and get access to the best of the best to provide solutions for it.
How to Make Up Your Mind
Still wondering which option for hearing solutions would be best for you and your unique hearing challenges? Nanaimo Hearing Clinic’s team of hearing care specialists is happy to walk you through what we can do for you as the highest rated hearing care clinic in Nanaimo.
Contact us today if you have questions or concerns; we’ll happily provide you with answers and advice to help alleviate concerns. If you’d rather not wait, feel free to call our office at (250) 585-4100.