If you’ve been wearing hearing aids for a while, you’re probably concerned about how long they’ll last. Especially if you’re on a tight budget, it can feel like an added strain to keep shelling out money. But it’s important to remember that hearing aids are an investment in your quality of life. They make it much easier to enjoy things like company, music, and family gatherings, but they help ensure you maintain the sharpness of your mind as you age.
Hearing aids have an average lifespan of three to seven years. Of course, this is an average, and outliers are bound to occur. Numerous influencing elements go into determining when your hearing aids should be changed. How often did you put them on? How much moisture were they exposed to? Were daily cleaning and maintenance a priority, or did they fall by the wayside at times?
There are reasons to invest in a new pair of hearing aids, even if you pay meticulous attention to cleaning and maintenance. Here are some of the most common reasons people want to change their hearing aids.
If your hearing aids quit working, you must replace them immediately. Occasionally, this is only a maintenance issue, or a minor repair is required. Because hearing aids are small machines exposed to earwax and moisture regularly, they require these minor repairs from time to time.
Hearing aids have become an intrinsic element of your hearing experience now that they’ve become an essential part of your life, assisting in interaction with others and daily discussions. However, if they are no longer functional or are not reliable, it is time to replace them.
Check the warranty that came with your hearing aids when you bought them to determine if you’re eligible for upgrades or replacements.
For those of us who love learning about new technology and are enthralled by the latest advancements, it is a great time to explore hearing technology. The latest hearing aids are certainly something to behold, boasting technology from artificial intelligence to motion sensors. If this describes you, the right moment to update your hearing aids is when you can’t stop thinking about the latest features.
Your hearing aids may be working as well as they have in the past, but they can become obsolete if your hearing levels have changed. This is entirely normal, as hearing loss that develops later in age is frequently progressive and worsens over time. Hearing aids can help slow this down, but they won’t halt it completely.
Your old hearing aid may have been enough for your level of hearing loss, but moving into a new category necessitates the purchase of a more powerful unit. For various levels of hearing loss, there are a variety of styles and capabilities to choose from.
Perhaps you’ve recently joined a toastmasters group and are surrounded by people more often. You may have started a new job that requires spending a lot of time on the phone. Perhaps there is a hearing aid that is better suited to your new job responsibilities.
Hearing aids may need to be adjusted as your home environment changes. If you were previously fitted for hearing aids while living alone and have since moved in with your grandchildren, a different choice may make living in a noisy group environment more pleasant.
It may be time for new hearing aids if you were fitted for bespoke hearing aids and have since lost substantial weight. It may surprise you, but a significant weight increase or loss might alter the shape of your ear. Consider a new custom fitting rather than dealing with the discomfort and poor performance of ill-fitting hearing aids.
Don’t you wish you had taken action to address your hearing loss sooner? You may have chosen to live with your hearing loss for several years before investing in hearing aids.
Investing in new hearing aids should be approached in the same way if they’re not performing as well as they should fix or replace. It is simply not worth it to have a hearing experience that is less than ideal.
