Hearing Aids in Brentwood & Nashville, TN

Let the perfect pair of hearing aids keep you connected to the ones you love. There are a variety of types and styles of hearing aids. We can help you with whatever you’re looking for in a hearing aid. Not all hearing aids are the same, so it will depend on your lifestyle and hearing test to identify which one will be the best fit for you. Hearing aids won’t meet your expectations if they don’t treat the type of hearing loss you have or if they’re not powerful enough. We will begin your consultation with a hearing test because of this.

What would be the best type of hearing aid for me?

When you’re selecting a hearing aid, two important factors are the extent of your hearing loss and how long you plan on keeping the device in your ears. We may recommend one of the following hearing aid types depending on the results of your hearing test.

BTE Hearing Aids

Behind-the-ear (BTE) hearing aids have a part that sits behind the ear and loops over the top of your ear. A personally designed, sound amplifying earpiece, fits into your ear canal and connects to the device’s tube. People of any age who have moderate to severe hearing loss can benefit from this type of hearing aid. Most people will have no problems inserting and removing this type of hearing aid on their own. Most models of BTE can connect to any Bluetooth device, like your cellphone, via wireless technology.

ITE Hearing Aids

There are two types of in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aids: full shell models cover most of the outer ear and half shell models fit into the lower portion of the ear. People who have mild to severe hearing loss can use this type of hearing aid. ITE hearing aids have more battery power than smaller models and allow the user to control the volume.

ITC Hearing Aids

In-the-canal (ITC) hearing aids are personalized for the exact shape of your ear. They are fairly discrete but do have a visible portion. This type of hearing aid has the benefit of wireless technology allowing it to connect to streaming devices like your cellphone. Completely-in-canal (CIC) and invisible-in-canal (IIC) are the two types of ITC. These devices have some customization options, but in order to remain small and discrete, they often omit wireless capability. Because IIC hearing aids are inserted deep into the ear canal, they are basically invisible. For people with mild to moderate hearing loss, who want their hearing aids to be more discrete, IIC, CIC and ITC are good options.

RIC Hearing Aids

The speaker portion of a receiver-in-canal (RIC) hearing aid goes in the ear canal while the microphone and amplifier portion sit behind the ear. Separating the components in this way allows the device to be small enough to remain fairly well hidden. RIC hearing aids have wireless capability and are often recommended for individuals with moderate to severe hearing loss.

Middle Ear Implants

When an individual can’t wear a conventional hearing aid, a middle ear implant can be a practical alternative. With this device, a surgically implanted magnet holds a microphone, positioned behind the ear, in place. A separate device is surgically implanted in the middle ear which receives sound vibrations that were converted into sound by the microphone. This mitigates the user’s need for a speaker in order to hear. Middle ear implants can be a practical choice for people who have narrow ear canals, suffer from frequent ear infections, have severe allergies, and of course, for people with mild to moderate hearing loss.

Extended-Wear Hearing Aids

Extended-wear hearing aids, which are inserted deep inside the ear canal, are another possible option to think about. Extended-wear hearing aids don’t need to be removed for weeks or months. For people who have moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss, this style of hearing aid is a good option. Compared to hearing aids worn on the ear, wind noise, feedback, distortion and occlusion are reduced by placing the device deep in the ear canal.

Reasons To Think About Digital Hearing Aids

Analog hearing aids boost the volume of all external sound. With digital hearing aids, the sound you hear is digitized. Digital hearing aids amplify the sounds you’re trying to hear while eliminating background noise and frequencies you don’t want to hear. Separating speech from background noise and altering the frequency of sound to a frequency that your ear can hear, are functions that digital hearing aids can perform, unlike their analog counterparts.

Here are a few of the advantages of digital hearing aids:

• Digital hearing aids ensure you hear when someone is talking to you by dramatically reducing annoying background noise and clarifying the sound of speech.
• Unlike analog hearing aids, digital hearing aids have a lot less feedback.
• You won’t need to make manual volume adjustments with digital hearing aids because they automatically adjust to environmental changes.

Is Bluetooth capability something I need?

Bluetooth capability allows digital hearing aids to wirelessly connect to devices like cellphones, tablets and music-streaming devices and most hearing aid manufacturers produce hearing aids that include this technology. Even if you plan on using Bluetooth frequently, your battery life won’t be overly drained. Hearing aids that don’t include Bluetooth capability will often utilize a separate device known as a streamer.

Are all hearing aids wireless?

Cords, cables and visible wires aren’t featured on modern hearing aids. Modern hearing aids have “wireless” communication with devices like TVs, tablets, phones and other devices equipped for streaming. Your hearing aids will also be capable of communicating with one another if you have two. It isn’t possible for hearing aids that are not wireless to stream audio or communicate with your devices.

Here are a few things you can do with wireless hearing aids:

• Even if the sound stream is received in one ear only, you will be able to hear it in both hearing aids.
• Simply pressing one button to change the volume in both hearing aids.
• Ambient and undesirable sound that is interfering with comfortable listening can be eliminated.
• Unique sound environments, such as the grocery store or a noisy restaurant, can have custom settings.
• Directly stream static free podcasts, internet radio, TV shows and movies to your hearing aids.
• Adjust your own TV volume while other viewer’s volume remains unaffected.
• Decrease background noise while clarifying speech or music.
• Switch between streaming devices or adjust the volume of your hearing aids with an added remote control unit.

Does insurance cover hearing aids?

Each person’s insurance plan is different and each state has individual regulations, making this question a tricky one. Knowing whether any amount of your hearing aid purchase may be covered by your plan will require you to consult your insurance provider. You’re not alone in this, we can help by contacting your insurance provider for you to determine your level of coverage. We can also help you find ways to make your hearing aid purchase more affordable.