H E A LT H + F I T N E S S
GRANT COLLINS | AUDIOLOGIST | CLARITY HEARING SOLUTIONS
TIME TO UPGRADE YOUR HEARING AID
Tailoring a hearing aid treatment plan has never been so individualised and flexible thanks to new upgradeable technology and feature menu choice. Traditionally hearing aids have fixed technology levels set at different price ranges, so as you pay more you receive more set features in the hearing aids. For example an economy range hearing aid may have basic features, such as manual controls to change between two settings (one for ‘quiet’ and another for ‘background noise’). Moving up to the mid-range level hearing aids, the features may be automatic, rather than manual, meaning they automatically switch to the background noise mode without pushing buttons. The mid-range devices may also come with Bluetooth and extra programs such as tinnitus treatment modes.
There are now hearing aid devices available where you choose what features you would like specifically and pay per feature.
But what if you are not interested in Bluetooth or an automatic device but did want the extra program for tinnitus treatment? In the past this meant paying for extra features that may not be used just to get the one extra feature you did want.
What’s more, you can set the devices up in trial mode to see if it’s for you or not before you purchase the upgrade. You can turn your economy range hearing aids into topof-the-range hearing aids (allowing access to binaural processing) at any time.
then can select to purchase just one feature, for example a tinnitus treatment program. There is one downside, unfortunately some of the high-end technology features can’t be purchased for the economy base devices as they may not have the features built into it. An example of this is what is called ‘binaural processing’ where the hearing aids actually talk to each other. This provides assistance in telling where sounds come from (localisation).
A great example of how upgrades can be used is for one of our patients who was unemployed. He had basic needs but was also on a tight budget. He purchased the economy range devices, which were wonderful. However, once he found work in the mines he suddenly found he was working around heavy machinery and was unable to use the manual controls on the hearing aids to switch off around machinery noise.
However, there is another hearing aid model that offers a similar flexible approach called ‘upgrading’ which overcomes these issues. This model has traditional set technology levels but there are five levels so this allows fairly specific feature addition between levels.
He simply upgraded his devices two levels to unlock the automatic machinery settings that automatically go into a mute earplug mode around heavy machinery. The cost of the upgrade was a fraction of the price of a new hearing aid.
What upgradable technology allows you to do is to upgrade or downgrade between any different technology levels. So you can start at an economy range with manual settings and two programs. Then, should you decide at a later date you’d like to use Bluetooth with your devices, you can simply upgrade the hearing aid to the next level of technology for minimal costs without having to purchase a new hearing aid.
There are now hearing aid devices available where you choose what features you would like specifically and pay per feature, rather than having the features chosen for you. This means the patient has the opportunity to purchase a base range hearing device and
$0 No Gap Hearing Aids
No
Gap
hearing solutions
Take full advantage of your private health insurance rebates with our no gap $0 hearing solutions from Clarity Hearing Solutions. Including a wide variety of invisible technologies such as Invisible In the Canal (IIC), Bluetooth, Tinnitus treatment modes and water/dust resistant models to name but a few features. Minimum rebate value $500. Models vary depending on access to Hearing Services Program.
See www.clarityhearingsolutions.com.au Or call 1300 CLARITY or 4779 1566 now for your free, no obligation consultation. Advanced Hearing Aid and Audiological Specialists
266 Charters Towers Road, Hermit Park QLD 4812 Also at: Brisbane, Mackay, Ayr, Bowen, Charters Towers, Collinsville, Charleville, Clermont, Emerald, Gladstone, Ingham, Longreach, Mount Isa, Proserpine, Rockhampton, Roma, Sarina.
e enquiries@clarityhearingsolutions.com.au w www.clarityhearingsolutions.com.au
DUO MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2014 duomagazine.com.au 73