If You Need Hearing Aids
If a thorough hearing evaluation determines that your hearing loss can be helped with the use of hearing aids, here is what you can expect from Oakland Audiology:
- We will discuss the various levels and styles of hearing instruments available and help you choose the best system for your hearing loss and lifestyle .
- If indicated, we will take a custom impression of your ear. This will form the mold for your custom-fit hearing aid. This takes about 5-10 minutes.
- Your hearing aids will be ready to be fit in 1-2 weeks. At the initial fitting appointment, we will adjust the hearing aids to make sure that they have a satisfactory sound quality and physical fit, and explain how to use and care for your instruments. For your comfort, we suggest you bring a family member or friend to your fitting sessions.
- After the initial fitting, we will schedule you for a series of follow-up visits. These appointments will help us fine-tune your hearing aids, so that they deliver the best possible performance to meet your goals.
- After fine tuning is completed to your satisfaction, we recommend bringing the hearing aids in for a clean-and-check about every 3-6 months to ensure continued optimal performance. These visits are included in the cost of the hearing instrument, and can be completed as a scheduled appointment or during our daily walk-in clinic hours.
At Oakland Audiology, we offer a broad selection of hearing instruments featuring the latest innovations in design and technology from the world’s leading manufacturers. We will discuss all features and options available with you, to help in selecting the right devices for your needs. Some of the features we will discuss include:
Styles of Hearing Aids
There are various styles of hearing aid available, and in most cases, any style can be used for any patient. Styles of hearing aids generally fall into 2 categories:
Custom Fit Hearing Aids – These devices fit entirely inside your ear and come in various sizes, including Full Shell In-The-Ear (ITE), In-The-Canal (ITC), Completely-In-The-Canal (CIC), and the smallest custom device, Invisible-In-The-Canal (IIC). Benefits of this style of hearing aid include the natural location of the microphones and the ease of insertion.
Behind the Ear Hearing Aids – These devices include a portion that sits on the top of the ear, and a wire or tube that leads to a piece that fits into the ear. They may be classic Behind-The-Ear (BTE) which have tubing that connects to a custom silicon or acrylic ear mold that fits into the ear canal, or Receiver-In-The-Ear/Canal (RITE/RIC) which have a thin wire that connects to a small silicon cap that fits into the ear canal. Benefits of this style include the flexibility in choosing a small, soft, open ear piece, and less exposure of the electronics to the damaging effects of ear wax.
Hearing Aid Technology Level
Hearing aids are available with varying capabilities, from the most sophisticated fully automatic devices, to the more cost-effective manual devices. Higher level hearing aids have more features to combat noise and other unwanted sounds that can interfere with speech understanding. Our professionals will help you select an appropriate device, and will then work to get you the best results possible.
Additional features
Many hearing aids have additional features available, such as rechargeability, connectivity to smart devices or tablets, and tinnitus sound therapy. Assistive Listening Devices to aide hearing in groups settings, on the phone, or when watching television may also be discussed.