Note from Dr. Tammy: Father’s Day is coming up and this is a great time to reflect on those wonderful men in our lives. Fathers are known for their great advice but also tend to be a little stubborn at times according to our readers. Hearing aids might be a gift that your father can actually use. . . and a gift that truly benefits the entire family.
Hearing Loss and Hearing Tests
Q: My father has hearing loss. We all know it. We can’t even convince him to get a hearing test. How are we ever going to convince him to wear hearing aids? ~Evelyn from Littleton, Colorado
A: This is tough and one of the more common questions I am asked. Truly, you can’t force it. If someone really doesn’t want to get hearing aids then they likely won’t wear them once they do have them. The last thing we want is for them to sit in a drawer collecting dust.
I find the best approach is a gentle but honest one. Let your father know how difficult you find it to communicate with him. Let him know that you would love to be able to talk on the phone with him more. Let him know that you want him to be able to talk to the grandchildren more easily.
Give him positive reinforcement that will help him to decide that getting a hearing test and getting hearing aids will be a positive thing for him.
Hearing Aid Costs
Q: Why are hearing aids are so expensive? Are there any alternatives? ~Denese from Findlay, Ohio
A: When you purchase a hearing aid you are purchasing not only the device but the technology/research and the service that goes along with it. Most clinics bundle costs meaning that they put all these costs together and charge you one large fee.
There are absolutely alternatives. Audicus was born of a desire for an alternative. The business model at Audicus requests that the patient self-learn since we don’t have a clinic that you visit. We’ll send you the instruction manuals and we offer customer service via phone, chat and email.
Not having the overhead of a storefront allows Audicus pricing to be significantly lower than what you would pay otherwise.
Hearing Aids and Hearing Health
Q: My husband can’t hear our grandchildren. He’s missing out on so much. Would hearing aids help? ~Rebecca from Bradenton, Florida
A: Very likely, yes. The most common reason people can’t hear speech is simply that their ears aren’t able to pick up all the speech sounds anymore.
When you miss a speech sound your brain fills in the blanks. Sometimes you get it right but if you get it wrong the speech will sound mumbled or you will hear something different than what was actually said.
Hearing aids amplify the speech sounds so that the ears and brain can process them. They fill in the blanks so your brain doesn’t have to guess.
The first step is to get a hearing test. Once that’s done we can determine if hearing aids will help!
Please send your questions for Dr. Flodmand to [email protected]