Properly fit hearing aids can provide an amazing transformation for someone with hearing loss or an auditory processing disorder.  Hearing aids will bring in sounds that were once too soft to hear or they will amplify the voice above the background noise to give your brain the extra boost of clarity it needs to make sense of what is said. Fitting hearing aids on my patients brings me an immense amount of joy and satisfaction.  The results can simply be life changing. 

For people who have an auditory processing disorder, there is a lot of solid research that supports using a properly fit hearing aid set with very low gain (volume).  This treatment solution is best when it is paired with auditory training therapy and environmental modificiations, however hearing aids on their own are also effective. 

These days there are so many choices for consumers to acquire hearing aids. They are now permitted to be sold over-the-counter so you can select them and fit them to yourself, all on your own.  This is a viable option for some people.  There is minimal personalized support from the manufacturers of these hearing aids so this option will work best for someone who has a mild hearing loss and normal auditory processing abilities.

Hearing aids that are sold and fit by an audiologist will provide the most comprehensive hearing care solution.  This is because audiologists are trained to perform advanced diagnostic testing, such as speech-in-noise testing and other tests that are part of the auditory processing test battery.  These advanced diagnostic tests provide more information to give a comprehensive picture of your hearing and auditory processing abilities.

Advanced diagnostic testing is the starting point for a properly fit hearing aid.  The hearing aid must be verified in the office using electroacoustic tests.  This verifies that all the components are working correctly before it is programmed for the patient.  When a hearing aid is programmed for a patient, it is tested on the patient’s ear using a method called real-ear verification.  This involves placing a small, flexible plastic probe tube into the ear canal and measuring the response from the hearing aid near the ear drum.  This is a painless procedure for the patient! This step is the gold-standard for verifying that the amount of amplification is appropriate for the patient’s hearing loss. Everyone’s ear canal is slightly different and the shape of the canal affects the sound coming from the hearing aid.  We want to make sure that the sound arriving at the eardrum is just right and that the amount of amplification takes the shape of your ear canal into consideration!

There are many hearing aid manufacturer’s on the market today, but there are only 6 major manufacturers in the world.  I work with both Oticon and Phonak hearing aid manufacturers.  I prefer to fit my adult patients with Oticon hearing aids because I respect the research this company does around hearing and the brain.  Their philosophy is to provide sound quality that mimics the way your ears naturally pick up sound.  In doing so, they try to  tap into the brain's potential.  Afterall, you detect sound with your ears but you really hear with your brain.  When I work with children, I prefer to fit them with Phonak hearing aids.  This is because Phonak hearing aids and hearing aid technology are used in most school districts.  Phonak really owns the pediatric market, especially in the school setting.  If kids need to work with their school audiologist and receive hearing aid technology in the future, there is a good chance that the district already works with Phonak. 

When you purchase hearing aids from my office, we will first perform advanced diagnostic hearing testing.  Then we will work together to select the hearing aids that best meet your needs.  When we examine your needs, we work as partners to account for your hearing and auditory processing abilities, your lifestyle, the appearance of the hearing aids and your budget.  

The costs for hearing aids vary greatly depending on how you purchase them.  On one end of the spectrum is purchasing hearing aids over-the-counter.  This will likely cost the least but the personalization and support is minimal.  Cleaning, supplies and maintenance are usually not included.  On the other hand, you can purchase hearing devices from a hearing care provider that are bundled with services for the life of the hearing aids.  This means that cleaning and maintenance appointments and extended warranties may be paid for upfront along with the actual hearing aids.  I chose to sell hearing aids a little differently.  I sell hearing aids using an unbundled model.  This means you purchase the hearing aids but only pay for cleanings, maintenance, and support as needed.  This greatly reduces the cost for hearing aids and you are not paying for services that you don’t use.   

Included with hearing aid sale:

- Hearing aids that we select together depending on your hearing abilities, lifestyle, cosmetics, budget

- Pre-fit electroacoustic analysis

- Proper fitting using real ear verification

- 1 week follow up visit after fitting

- 90 day window for reprogramming as needed

- 2 cleanings

- Personalized instruction on care and maintenance

- 3 year repair warranty

- 3 year Loss & Damage insurance

Insurance billing: I am out of network with all insurances. I am able to provide you with a detailed invoice and diagnosis codes so that you may submit claims to your insurance for possible reimbursement.  Payment is due at the time of service.  I accept Visa or MasterCard, including HSA credit cards.