The World Health Organization predicts a double-digit increase in hearing loss in the United States by 2050, and millions more people will be facing a future of constantly trying to figure out what’s best for their hearing.

If you’re starting to think you might have a hearing loss, it can be natural to feel overwhelmed at thoughts of the future, what hearing treatment might look like, and who you can trust.

But there’s no need to worry.

Hearing Doctors is here to guide you through every stage of your hearing journey. We can provide you with your own customized hearing solutions as your hearing changes, and we’ll always be here for you.

To help you at this part of your journey, we’ve outlined below many of the ways we can treat a hearing loss once we’ve diagnosed it. We hope this helps assuage some of your worry.

Before We Look at Your Hearing Treatment Options

The most important thing about treating a hearing loss is that to treat it properly, we first have to know what’s causing it, and then we have to know the degree of hearing loss. We do this with a thorough hearing evaluation.

A priority is to take care of any medical conditions. If your hearing loss is caused by a medical condition, we will refer you to one of our ENT doctors so you can get the treatment you need for that first.

Once we are sure that’s treated properly, or a required surgery is done, we can focus on improving your hearing.

What You Need to Consider

The second thing we have to consider is your lifestyle, budget, and unique circumstances.

• Are you very active – what types of sports do you participate in?

• Where do you most need your hearing treatment to perform – in meetings? At music events? On the phone? During family meals?

• Would you rather receive most of your audiological support in person or via the phone and telehealth chats?

• Is price no object or does it depend on your insurance or a doable payment plan?

• Would you rather work for years with a local hearing clinic team that knows you or with a corporation that is more focused on a sale?

Knowing the answers to all these questions will prepare you better when it comes to decision time.

The Different Types of Hearing Treatment

Without further ado, here are the different types of hearing treatment we can look at together and discuss. They can include sliding a credit card in a store or online, setting up a care plan with an audiologist, or having surgery.

#1 – Assistive listening devices and sound-amplifying apps

If your hearing is inside normal range, we can enhance your hearing in certain situations with the best assistive listening device or app for your needs.

These work beautifully for someone with no hearing loss but who has difficulty hearing speech when there’s a lot of background noise.

The benefit of buying the right device or app through your audiologist is that we will set it to the right levels for you, making sure it helps rather than damages your hearing.

Some examples of sound amplifier apps include:

• Google Sound Amplifier – free

• HearMax Super Hearing Aid Amplifier – free

• Hearing Aid – Sound Amplifier for iPhones – free

Some downsides to these are:

• PSAPs range in price from $35 to $1,000.

• Most of them require you to use headphones with earbuds because they don’t stream.

• Many people who set these themselves set the volume too high.

Assistive listening systems or devices can be used for any degree of hearing loss to boost an existing hearing aid or cochlear implant, but for those who just need a hearing boost, they can increase volume and pick out speech.

• They won’t do much else though, and there is no user support.

• They are hardwired or wireless.

• Assistive listening devices range from $40 to $200.

#2 – Store-bought hearing aids

Also called over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, the two FDA-approved hearing aids that are already on the market are the:

• Bose SoundControl – $850 per pair

• Jabra Enhance Plus– $800 per pair

These products are also better used for people who need only a hearing boost at times – when they need to focus on one sound among many.

• They fit in your ear and look similar to a high-tech earplug.

• They are not programmed to your hearing test results, so they just do a generic job of helping your hearing.

• They aren’t comfortable enough to wear all day.

• They have no loss and damage warranty.

#3 – Online hearing aids – with remote hearing expert support

You can now buy hearing aids online from companies such as Lively, EarGo, and Audicus. Reviews are very mixed, but we can see the appeal.

• They range in price from $1,195 to $2,900 per pair.

• They have payment plan options.

• They provide support by phone or online from hearing professionals.

• They come with a two-year warranty and money-back guarantee.

• They have Bluetooth and hands-free calling.

But there is a downside to buying online hearing aids.

• They are programmed to the results of an online hearing test, which is usually inaccurate.

• You get no in-person hearing test to check for any medical causes of your hearing loss.

• You are never helped in person, and everyone you chat with virtually will likely forget your face and name within minutes.

#4 – Prescription hearing aids – with an audiologist’s support

This is what most patients with a mild to severe hearing loss choose because it’s the most customized option.

• Your hearing aids are programmed and adjusted to match your hearing test results perfectly.

• Your hearing aids are fit to match your exact ear and ear canal shape.

• You get one-on-one care every time and quickly become family.

• You buy the best hearing aid for you.

• You buy the package of hearing aids plus services rather than just the product – hearing aids, cleanings, maintenance, hearing checks, repairs, support.

• Your audiologist works with your insurance company to make sure you get what your coverage includes and also offers payment plans.

One thing to note is that children cannot legally be treated with anything other than hearing aids bought through an audiologist.

#5 – Hearing loss surgery (cochlear implants)

This is a surgical implant that bypasses the non-working parts of your middle ear so your brain can receive and process sound signals again. It’s usually done for patients who can no longer benefit from wearing hearing aids.

About six months of post-op appointments are needed to help familiarize different environmental sounds and vocabulary and improve auditory feedback.

What Is The Best Decision?

While we are delighted there are so many valuable options for hearing treatment these days, we honestly don’t believe anything can match choosing the best one for you without the care of an audiologist.

But we have no hesitation in recommending any one of these options to our patients when it is the best fit for them, and it often is.

If you’d like to get expert advice on what’s best for you, simply book a hearing test with us and let that be your first step in your hearing journey. We’ll look after everything from there until you are happy.

And please feel free to call us with any questions – Virginia: (703) 962-6139 or Maryland: (301) 761-2988. You can trust that we’ll fit you with what’s best for you based on your specific hearing loss, needs, and lifestyle.