Quote:
>My father has used hearing aids for the last ten or so years. He has
>experienced very poor reliability with several brands. These hearing
>aids are very expensive ($500-$1000 each). He is getting ready to purchase
>another set and would like information on the most effective and
>reliable brands.
Your father should see an audiologist. There is probably one attached
to an ENT practice somewhere in your area. Fitting hearing aids is an
exact science, and consumers and hearing aid dealers are incompetent
to prescribe the right aid. After all, you wouldn't prescribe your own
glasses, would you? Why would you think that hearing aids are any simpler?
They don't just amplify; hearing aids can be chosen that:
selectively amplify certain frequency ranges
shift (by heterodyne) one frequency range into another
selectively filter particular frequency ranges
any combination of the above
The choice of type of correction, relevant frequency ranges, and degree
of amplification, can only be made after a thorough hearing evaluation.
Look for an ASHA-certified (American Speech and Hearing Assn.) audiologist
who tests in a sound-treated room using good headphones and bone-conduction
apparatus. And, ONCE HE GETS HIS PRESCRIPTION, DON'T LET SOME HEARING AID
DEALER TALK HIM INTO GETTING ANYTHING ELSE. This became such a problem in
New York that audiologists won the right to sell hearing aids on a cost basis.
(They sell them for what they pay for them; incidental expenses are covered
by the examination fee, which is fixed.) Your father's reliability problems
were probably caused by poor choices of aid, not any factor intrinsic to
the aid. Any reasonable make of aid will last for many years with reasonable
care and occasional battery changes.
--
Mark A. Fulk University of Rochester
HEARING AID RELIABILITY