There are many options on the market today that claim to help with hearing loss. Some of these new options, such as over-the-counter (OTC) or mail-order, amplify sound and may seem less expensive, but that is not true for most people. Your hearing health is critical to your overall health and requires more than just louder sound. That is why it is important to work with an audiologist or hearing care professional.

Your audiologist or hearing care professional evaluates your entire auditory system and factors in lifestyle and other medical conditions to provide a complete evaluation. Based on this full evaluation he or she can recommend the best treatment options. Your complete hearing health is the priority. Your audiologist also works with you long-term to establish better hearing health and becomes a true partner on your hearing loss journey.

The condition and severity of hearing loss is too diverse to be managed well by an OTC or mail-order hearing device. Instead, your audiologist has access to an array of different types and styles of hearing aids that can be customized and fitted to meet your unique needs. The audiologist also works with you one-on-one as you wear your hearing aids, making setting changes and navigating you through the adjustment period.

Finally, OTC devices are not customized to your hearing needs. You may have to try many different types which overtime can become costly. OTC and mail-order companies also do not offer the follow up and true partnership that an audiologist provides. New hearing aid users often become discouraged with OTC devices and give up wearing them at all. This frustration only prolongs the hearing loss problem.

The bottom line is you have unique hearing health needs, and an audiologist provides the necessary one-on-one care needed to ensure you have access to the right treatments and technology. Here at Clifton Springs Hearing Center we even offer a free initial screening making meeting with an audiologist even easier.