today's hearing aids - smaller, sleeker, better sound

Remember those clunky hearing aids that amplified every little sound and made it all but impossible to hear a conversation in a crowded restaurant? Today's digital technology introduces models that are smaller, sleeker and have vastly improved sound, allowing wearers to discriminate differences in noise level.

New digital models not only have the capabilities to deal with various sound environments, such as crowded restaurants or stores, but also offer tiny in-the-canal models, especially attractive to those who don't want the device to be noticed by others. But the small size comes at a price, with typical digital models running from about $2,500 to $3,500 per ear, versus the conventional hearing-aid models procured for as little as $600 to $700 each.

Despite advances in hearing-aid technology, devices are used by only a quarter of the 28 million Americans believed to suffer from hearing loss. After age 65, as many as 1 in 4 people may need to use a hearing aid. Still many senior citizens, unaware of the new technology and wary of negative stereotypes, refuse to wear them.

This new digital technology provides an increased subtlety of sound and clarity, according to David Fabry, vice president of education and public relations at the hearing-aid company Phonak and the former president of the American Academy of Audiology. Soft sounds are soft, and louder sounds do not become uncomfortably loud. "Many hearing aids in the past have not really achieved that," said Fabry, who noted that the older models merely amplified sound. "And through the use of digital… we're providing a person with hearing loss the same capability, to offer dynamics of sounds that someone with normal hearing would (perceive)."

Still, one concern audiologists said they repeatedly hear from patients is a fear of being negatively judged for wearing a hearing aid. "Many people associate hearing loss with getting older, and many people don't want to," said Fabry. "As we have baby boomers who are living longer and working longer, the idea of wearing a hearing aid might be seen by some as a sign of weakness - in some way, you're not going to be able to do your job as well as that young Gen-Xer who wants your job."

Karen Spayd, a California State University, Northridge, audiology lecturer and clinic supervisor, said that hearing loss is often gradual and can have a variety of causes - and it's not always apparent to a person that he or she has lost hearing until communication with family and friends suffers. "We try to tell our patients that the hearing aid will provide better quality of life," said Spayd, noting that not hearing well can have ramifications beyond missing a few words.

"If you let the hearing loss go, the hearing loss is associated with not only communication breakdowns but depression, isolation and other factors. And all that can be avoided by just having a hearing aid."

Unfortunately, the cost of a hearing aid is a major concern for many. Apart from some union plans, most insurance options do not cover the cost of hearing aids. But as audiologist Rose Bongiovanni, director of training and development at the hearing-aid company Widex, explained, digital devices, which typically last four to six years, can pay for themselves as audiologists can tweak the instruments to match a patient's changing hearing ability over time.

Even with the new advances, though, patients do not always heed their audiologist's recommendations to get help for their hearing in a timely fashion. "Research has shown that from the time a hearing loss is diagnosed to the time a person does something about it, it is seven years," said Spayd. "That's seven years of not having good quality of life."

As Carol Fee, a senior citizen who uses a digital model summed it up: "If you want to communicate, get a hearing aid."

Source: dailynews.com, Health Beat
Published: April 17, 2005