Hearing Loss Treatment (English Version)

By Manfred Stoifl (Hearing aid Acoustician) AAHA,

Vienna, Austria 

Latest developments in hearing loss treatment combine a unique approach to testing and device selection, with state of the art hearing aid options which wirelessly link hearing aids to a patient’s iPhone, iPad, Macintosh or Android device.

Hearing testing and hearing device selection truly have changed, at least as far as the Hearing Solution Group of companies is concerned.Available hearing aid technologies and resulting prices are clearly structured into categories.The necessary category is not chosen by a sales person or by the customer, but based on objective measurement data obtained by a hearing care consultant from the patient. 

The ease with which any given patient will be able to adapt to the hearing devices and the amount of time and help each individual will need will also be evaluated in advance based on a central auditory ability assessment.

Each customer will undergo 3 tests:

• Firstly, a comprehensive hearing test is conducted to determine the amount of hearing loss at all frequencies of the hearing spectrum. This will determine how many channels, a major factor in hearing aid price, are necessary in the hearing aid to adequately compensate for the measured hearing loss at all frequencies.

• Secondly, a Noise Level test, to determine what level of background noise is acceptable for a given patient to listen to speech in and remain comfortable. This will determine the sophistication and degree of noise cancelling and speech enhancement, another major factor in hearing aid cost, any given patient requires.

• The third test, a central auditory perception audiogram, will give vital information on the degree of auditory deprivation a patient has suffered. Based on this test we can predict the amount of time and effort it will take for a patient to get used to hear all the life’s sounds again.

This is not to say that the customer has no say or input in the final hearing aid selection and cost. The patient can select from a wide variety of features and options only the patient will know if they are useful in her/his daily activities. The patient also chooses the style and size of the hearing device based on wearing preference and cosmetic requirements. Receiving and listening to phone calls directly through your hearing aids is just one of these incredible useful options.