Featuring Carla E. Fortune, Au.D., CCC-A, of The Ear, Nose, Throat and Plastic Surgery Associates.
Millions of Americans live every day with a hearing impairment; however some of the problems can be corrected with a visit to an audiologist and a custom, properly-tuned hearing device. Carla E. Fortune, Au.D., CCC-A, of The Ear, Nose, Throat and Plastic Surgery Associates, sat down to answer some of her most commonly heard questions. If you have a question not answered below, don’t hesitate to contact her office today.
How Do I Know if I Have Hearing Loss?
If you’ve experienced one of the following you may have some level of hearing loss: you can’t hear people very clearly; you find yourself asking people to repeat themselves often; conversations sound mumbled; your family constantly tells you the T.V. or radio is on too loud; or you feel frustrated when there is a lot of background noise and you’re trying to have a conversation.
Changes in hearing don’t always mean there’s going to be a loss in volume, sometimes sounds just may become different or harder to hear over time. If you suspect you may have hearing loss, the best thing for you to do is to take control of the situation and get your hearing checked.
Are All Hearing Devices the Same?
All hearing devices are not the same. There are significant differences in the level of technology, benefit and price of different models. Some of the things we want you to consider are your hearing loss, your lifestyle, your expectations of the device and your budget.
Like other electronic equipment purchases, style and features can affect the cost. However, we don’t want price to determine which hearing device you pursue. It’s important to discuss what you want from your hearing device so we can help find the right fit for your needs.
How Do I Know Which Hearing Device is Right for Me?
During your hearing device consultation you and your audiologist will meet and discuss different styles and level of technology. You’re going to discuss your hearing loss in depth as well as your lifestyle and budget so we can offer suggestions that fit precisely what you need.
Oftentimes the audiologist will also be able to provide you with a demonstration of a pair of hearing devices that are fit to your hearing loss specifications during this appointment so you can experience what the difference will actually sound like.
You’ll find immediate improvement in conversation. You’ll also notice that you’ll be hearing a lot more sounds in your environment. Learning to use a hearing device successfully is going to take some time and patience because there are a lot of sounds you’ll have to get used to hearing. You shouldn’t have to strain to hear conversations anymore and as a result, at the end of the day, you’ll find you have more energy because you can hear much better.
Are Hearing Devices Covered by Insurance?
Insurance policies are very individualized so we encourage all patients to call their insurance company and find out if hearing devices are a covered benefit under their policy. Unfortunately for many policies, they are an excluded benefit, even for Medicare. Our office does offer a financing option if that’s something that would help you when pursuing a hearing device.
If you have any questions, please visit our Hearing and Balance Center page or call 407.644.4883 to schedule your hearing evaluation and consultation today.