Many first-time buyers of hearing aids are interested in accessories and options, so in this post we provide a few of our suggestions. No matter which style or brand of hearing aid you wear, the following accessories, are fairly common.
Stocking up on batteries is never a bad idea, because you’ll need a lot of them. Expect that disposable batteries will need to be replaced every 5 to 14 days.
Because hearing aids are susceptible to moisture, hearing aid dehumidifiers are a good idea to protect your investment and to insure that it will keep working perfectly for many years. Placing your hearing aid in the dehumidifier nightly when you are not wearing it will help keep it in good working condition. Cleaning kits are available to keep the exterior of your hearing aids clean. Ear wax filters help keep wax from accumulating on the aids when you are wearing them.
There are various Bluetooth extensions for specific hearing aids that will extend their capabilities. Many digital hearing aids support the Bluetooth wireless connection standard, which means that they can be configured to stream sound directly from many mobile phones, audio players such as iPods, and televisions. The Bluetooth connection allows you to enjoy these devices without having to be very close to them or turn up the volume.
For those of you with analog hearing aids that don’t support Bluetooth, you can accomplish almost the same thing with an FM system that places a remote microphone and transmitter near the TV or stereo and uses a receiver closer to your hearing aid to pick up and amplify the sound. These low-cost FM systems can be an advantage in noisy environments or those shared with other people; you can hear conversations spoken in a normal tone of voice near you while also hearing music or the TV played from much further away.
If you have questions about the hearing aid accessories described in this article or any others you’ve heard about, please don’t hesitate to ask. Having the right accessories will help you get greater enjoyment and use out of your hearing aid.