How to Choose a Hearing Aid for an Elderly Person without Medical Advice
As a rule, the choice of any medical device requires to consult a relevant specialist. This holds true for hearing aids as well. But sometimes having a consultation is troublesome or even impossible, especially with elderly people. It is hard for a man in his 80-s to walk long distances. The situation gets more complicated if the person is hypochondriac or touchy. This is why in such cases relatives may decide to buy a hearing aid on their own.
Modern hearing aid market offers a wide variety of devices various in form, functions and performance.
Analogue hearing aids are affordable and easy to use, even for an elderly person. Digital hearing aids are more complex – they need programming, although they have more additional functions.
Hearing aids may come in different types of wearing: they can be placed in the ear (ITE), behind the ear (BTE) or into the pocket. If the problem of hearing has to be solved independently, it is better to go for BTE or pocket models. ITE hearing aids are designed with the account of one’s individual characteristics of hearing, which cannot be done without the participation of the patient himself.
Pocket hearing aids are the most simple and cheap (not more than 20$), with headphones in a set. They are worn in the pocket, which is ideal for a person who rarely goes outside and have troubles handling small things.
BTE hearing aids are smaller in size; they can be worn and removed without assistance. In most cases elderly people do not care how they look wearing such a device, so this is a good choice.
Analogue devices are more reliable and easier to adjust. They too, of course, have disadvantages, but it will perfectly suit a person who does not need fine sound perception.
It is also important to make sure the device you choose will operate correctly and continuously. Devices for sound amplification can work from batteries, accumulators or can be recharged via mains connection. Anyway, you have to provide spare power supply to make sure the device is in the working condition.
There are contraindications, it is necessary to consult a specialist