Hearing aids are a commonly used solution for age-related hearing loss. To get a hearing aid, you need to have your hearing tested and see either an audiologist or a hearing aid dispenser. Audiologists have more training than hearing aid dispensers. In addition to fitting and selling hearing aids, audiologists evaluate and provide rehab to patients.
Hearing aids are programmed to address your specific hearing loss, which means that they will probably do the most to address it. However, they can be quite expensive - several thousand dollars each -- and are not covered by most insurance policies. Some
programs are available to help with the costs of hearing aids, be sure to check them out.
It is good to know there are a few newer companies that are providing high quality hearing aids at a lower cost and trying to change the market and bring the cost of hearing health care down across the board. Currently, researcher groups, such as Dr. Frank Lin's lab at Johns Hopkins University, are evaluating these devices using objective measures to determine their capabilities.
Author Katherine Bouton, who lives with age-related hearing loss, wrote a compelling blog post on a recent federal advisory report that advocates
Buying Hearing Aids Should Be Cheaper and Easier.