When to Get New Hearing Aids

If you’ve had the same hearing aids for a few years, it may be time to consider getting new devices. On average, hearing health specialists suggest that you get new hearing aids every 3 to 5 years, but this varies as your hearing needs change, and while your devices could last several more years, you may also need to replace them sooner than you were expecting.

Changing Hearing Needs

If you’ve been wearing hearing aids for a while, you have enjoyed several years of clear hearing. Have you noticed any recent changes, or found yourself struggling to hear from time to time over the past month? Your devices helped you in every listening environment when you first got them, but now you’ve started to struggle with hearing loss again. Just like the first time you experienced hearing loss, you may not notice right away that something has changed, and it will be several months before you realize that you’re straining to hear. That’s why regular visits to your hearing specialist, and annual hearing tests, will help you monitor your hearing health.

Changing Lifestyle

Think about the listening environments you encounter over the course of a normal week, such as meeting friends in a restaurant, having dinner with the family, chatting with coworkers, or talking on the phone. Do your devices help you hear in all these situations? Are you satisfied with their performance? If you’ve had any lifestyle changes in the last year, you may need to get new hearing aids. Starting a new job, retiring, welcoming a new member into the family, or taking up a new hobby could create listening environments that your hearing aids can’t adjust to. It’s common that your hearing needs will change over time, and the device that was perfect for you 5 years ago may not be doing the trick anymore. Changing hearing needs and lifestyle can indicate that you need to get new hearing aids.

Hearing Aids Experience Wear and Tear

Have your hearing aids needed a lot of repairs in the last few months? Hearing aids can last for years, but after a while they do start to malfunction more often due to normal wear and tear. The life of hearing devices is shortened depending on your lifestyle and maintenance habits. For example, during humid months, or when you’re very physically active and your hearing aids encounter a lot more moisture your hearing aids will be under a lot more strain, and could get clogged by sweat, dirt, dust, or earwax. A thorough cleaning and drying every day will prolong the life of your devices. Without this extra care, hearing aids will start to show damage, and after a few years the sensitive electronic components of your devices will wear out.

Latest Hearing Technology

Wondering when to get new hearing aids? If you’re on the fence, take a look at some of the latest hearing technology, and discover what modern devices can do for you. In the last 5 years hearing technology has improved dramatically, and you may find some features that could change the way you hear the world. Connectivity features will allow you to seamlessly stream audio from your phone or TV right to your ears, and rechargeable batteries can save you from fiddling with tiny batteries every few days. Music listening programs give music a rich, full sound, and the latest in background noise reduction and speech enhancement technology will reduce your listening effort and let you use your energy for the things you love.

Following Your Hearing Health Specialist’s Advice

Still wondering when to get new hearing aids? At Hearing Consultants, our team of hearing health specialists have been in the business for a long time, and we’ll help you make that decision. We perform hearing tests, and can examine your current devices to determine if your hearing aids are right for your hearing needs. A thorough cleaning and a few repairs could have your current devices working in tip top shape, and depending on the device, we can recalibrate it to match your current needs. If you need new hearing aids, we have a wide selection of modern hearing technology to choose from, and we’ll work with you to find the perfect hearing aids to get you back to clear hearing.