Your hearing aids have been a trusty companion for some time. Day in and day out, hearing aids provide us access to the world around us. However, they don’t come with a finite expiration date, so the choice to shop for a new hearing device is entirely in your hands. It can be difficult to notice when exactly is the time you should update your hearing aids because so many factors play into the decision to replace or upgrade what you’re currently using.

We know that the most common expected lifespan for hearing aids is between three and seven years. That said, the interplay of many factors affect the decision to adjust, replace or upgrade your hearing aids.

A quick rule of thumb is to evaluate whether you’re turning up the volume on your hearing aids often or dramatically. This might be an indication that the device isn’t working properly, or that your needs have changed. Another surefire indication is if your hearing aid is producing static. You don’t have to suffer through this and a new hearing aid could very well eliminate this annoying distraction. Either way, this would be a decisive indicator that it’s time to visit your hearing health professional for an adjustment at the very least.

Have you ever seen a shoe repair shop with the clever saying, “Time wounds all heels?” Hearing aids can be a lot like that. When something is being used daily and relentlessly, wear and tear is just a natural side effect.

How we work and live have huge impacts on our common listening scenarios. If you used to work in a quiet office, but now find yourself in a busy and noisy listening environment, then you could probably benefit from visiting your hearing health professional with those new considerations in mind.

Perhaps your living situation used to be quite calm, but now you find that group conversations and ambient noise are unavoidable. Instead of struggling to communicate or feeling frustrated that your hearing aid isn’t performing as well in this new scenario, adjusting your hearing aids might just solve the problem!

If the decision to initially seek out a hearing solution for your life first arose because of the degenerative hearing loss due to aging that is so common, then chances are your hearing ability has continued to decrease. Probably at a much slower rate because of your swift action in treating it with a hearing aid, so good for you. But still, regardless of how quickly you intervened, age-related hearing loss is still a progressive condition.

If you’re not hearing as clearly as you were in your hearing aid salad days, then it’s time to make an appointment for a consultation. In many instances, your hearing health professional can make some adjustments to your current device. However, it may be that you’d be hearing significantly better with a more powerful device suited to your new level of hearing loss. In either situation, the result will ultimately be better and more effortless hearing. So, what are you waiting for?

Let’s say that you’ve taken perfect care of your hearing aids. They look and feel brand new. There’s a very good chance you might have hearing devices that function just as perfectly as they did the day you bought them…two decades ago. But, think about what you’re missing!

You’ve upgraded the audio devices and electronics around you. Why would the very technology that enhances your listening experience of them be outdated and clunky? In the past twenty years, audiology has advanced leaps and bounds. The technologies we use in today’s models are vastly superior to those produced in the 1990’s. A perfect example of this is the way that Bluetooth technology permeates almost every facet of today’s communications, a technology that wasn’t ubiquitous in those old hearing aids. Today, most hearing aids come with seamless Bluetooth integration.

And apps! You might be used to manually adjusting settings and programs on your hearing aid itself. All that can be done easily and discreetly on your smartphone these days. Can you imagine if you never upgraded the rest of your life to incorporate the ease of using app technology?

If you’ve noticed changes in your hearing aids, or if you’d like to consider an upgrade to newer hearing aid technology, contact us at Hear Care Rhode Island. We offer the most advanced hearing aid technology to date and provide hearing aid fittings to ensure that your devices will meet your needs.