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If you search online for solutions to hearing loss such as buying digital ear hearing aids you would think anyone could solve hearing loss just by sending in some money and getting a hearing aid they offer. You’re going to find some great products and some not-so-great products to help you hear better.

What to do first: It is my belief that the first thing you want to do is see your doctor and have your hearing tested. I have been in practice for over 38 years and I can’t tell you how many people we have helped solve their hearing loss just by removing ear wax. We also have sent thousands of people to see their doctor that had serious medical conditions, including tumors that could have been life threatening. Don’t wait until it is too late to get your hearing tested make sure and take care of it before the problem becomes worse. My point is: If you have hearing loss, make that simple appointment. Though rare, it could even save your life.

If you have seen your doctor and have a free hearing loss test, now you can decide how you want to correct your hearing loss with amplification. If you have had your hearing tested even by your doctor — by now you know that most testing is done in hopes you will purchase a hearing aid from them. Did you experience sticker shock when you were told it would only cost you ,500 to ,500 for each hearing aid? That perhaps is why most people start shopping around, even on the Web.

What to look for on-line:

• Do they recommend you see your doctor first? I may be old-fashioned, but I believe you should always recommend what would be in your patient’s best interest first.
• What is the level of technology offered? There are many levels of digital chips offered, and the least expensive usually are the one and two channel products. Also, beware that they can call an analog hearing aid digital if they use a computer to program it.
• Do they program your hearing aid to match your prescription? Would you order your eyeglasses over the web without sending your prescription? I hope not. That’s how it is with hearing aids. Getting just any hearing aid that amplifies sound is like purchasing the magnified readers at the drug store to help solve all your eyesight needs. Without your prescription in your hearing aids you are limiting the results you could be experiencing.
• The top question to ask is do they tell you what an important role maintaining your hearing device plays in your ability to hear well year after year? To me this is the most important issue for anyone purchasing a hearing aid. Even when purchasing in a local store, sadly, so many providers — though they say they do — don’t provide this service very well.