What’s wrong with invisible hearing aids?

There are plenty of flashy ads showing tiny deep canal hearing aids. In a small number of cases they are an appropriate solution to a hearing loss, but for the majority they come with some inherent problems. The primary problem encountered is the occlusion effect, where they can sound like you have your fingers stuck in your ear when you talk! This excess amplification makes it very hard to tolerate the aids in your ear unless you personally remain silent….and that’s not good for having a conversation.

Secondly, as they are deep in the ear canal they are very prone to becoming blocked with ear wax, and this can lead to infection in some cases and costly repairs. Third, the small size means you miss out on some of the signal processing technology that comes with slightly larger devices. Fourth, very small aids mean very small batteries with very short life, sometimes as little as two day! Changing batteries can become a chore.

Invisible hearing aids come with many downsides, its very important to see an independent hearing clinic to get correct advice about what will suit you best. Smaller is not always better. There is a saying in the hearing rehabilitation profession; “you know what is more obvious than a hearing aid? A person who says “eh?” all the time.”   Talk to your local hearing clinic, get that second opinion.

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