fbpx Skip to content

HEARING AIDS IN CHICAGO

Find a Hearing Aid Solution That Fits You! 

Manufacturers have spent the last 20 years designing hearing aids that are discreet, comfortable, and smart. Hearing devices are so technologically advanced that they can stimulate brain function, automatically adapt to your every environment, and provide crisp, clear, and personalized sound.  And…be totally invisible.

Which Hearing Aid Is The Best?

Every major manufacturer (GN Resound, Oticon, Phonak, Siemens, Starkey, and Widex) makes great, technologically advanced and sophisticated hearing aids. These manufacturers are considered “the best,” and most “cutting edge,” because they devote billions of dollars to research and technology. All other manufacturers either are owned by one of the major manufacturers, or are off-brand hearing aids that do not have the advanced features or capabilities of the “big six.”

 

Every manufacturer makes three or four levels of technology. The more sophisticated the technology, the more automatic they are (you do not need to do anything), the faster the processing and the faster they adapt to different environments and voices. More advanced means the hearing aids are actually smarter. They talk to each other to determine the location of speech and suppress surrounding sounds. In addition, the higher the level of technology the better they can be fine-tuned for individual needs and brain functioning.

 

Remember, there is no “best” hearing aid and no one manufacturer or brand that is right for everyone.  Our goal is finding the right solution that is the “best” for you

hearing health center

What To Keep In Mind When Choosing A Hearing Aid

  • The major manufacturers have the most resources to invest in research and development.
  • There is a difference in sound quality, speed of processing, ear to ear communication, ease of use, fine tuning capacity, and ease of listening among manufacturers, technology levels and price.
  • You really do get what you pay for.
  • Every manufacturer has different philosophies and algorithms as to how sound should be managed and manipulated. Some alter the sound when it enters the microphone. Some manipulate the sound in the receiver…before it enters your ears. Some process the sound slower and some process it faster. Which one do you need?
  • The “best,” most sophisticated, technologically advanced hearing aid is just a piece of plastic. Even the “best’ hearing aid will not work without the skill, knowledge and expertise of the provider you knows you, your medical history, your lifestyle and needs and understands how to program and fine tune it for you.

Things to Consider About Hearing Aids 

Hearing Aid Technology and Pricing

Hearing aids today are sophisticated, complex and smart….really smart. Digital hearing aids really mean that you have two computers in your ears that are programmed and fine-tuned just for you. Not everyone needs the most sophisticated technology. The right solution for you depends on your hearing ability, lifestyle, hearing healthcare budget and individual needs. 

 

Hearing aids don’t have to be expensive. There are affordable and comfortable solutions for everyone.

  • Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAP’s) Over the Counter Hearing aids (OTC) – $499 to $999.00. PSAP and OTC hearing aids are relatively new hearing solutions for those who only have difficulty understanding conversation sometimes, and in certain situations (restaurants, lectures, meetings, TV, from another room). They are like reading glasses for your ears. You only use them when you need them to increase soft voices and to hear speech crisply and clearly.
  • Basic/Entry Level– $800 to $1300. Good, basic hearing aids that work best in quiet environments and in one-on-one conversations. They have limited adjustments and are designed for those who do not go out much and want to hear TV programs more clearly and understand their children/grandchildren when they come to visit.
  • Good/Standard Level– $1300 to $2200. Hearing aids with some suppression of background noise for hearing in more difficult environments. They are designed for  those with limited activity who want to hear and understand TV, visitors, in quiet restaurants, the grocery store, more clearly on the phone, and other limited environments
  • Better/Advanced Level– $2200 to $3000. Hearing aids with more features for noise management, enhanced speech clarity, and reverberant environments such as churches and auditoriums. They are designed for those with active lifestyles who want to hear and understand in meetings and different group settings (restaurants, theater, movies).
  • Best/Premium Level – $3000 to $4200. For those who have the most active lifestyles and every-changing environments (restaurants, meetings, lectures, sports arenas), music lovers, and outdoor recreational activities.  These hearing aids decipher the type of environment (music, outdoors, parties, airplanes, car, restaurants), and automatically switch processing modalities for the best listening, comfort and speech comprehension. They have features that are not available in any of the other technologies or hearing aid levels.
  • The greatest bandwidth for the richest and brightest sound quality for both listening and playing music
  • Higher frequency capabilities for the crispest, sharpest, and speech clarity and understanding
  • Advanced wind noise reduction essential for all outdoor activities
  • Fitness and brain activity tracking
  • Real time foreign language translation, right in your ears.

 

Fisher Foundation for Hearing Health Care – No one should be denied hearing the beauty of the sounds of life or the voices of those they care about and love. The Fisher Foundation for Hearing Health Care provides hearing services and treatment to those in need.

Cosmetics 

The best hearing aids for you are the ones you will wear. Hearing aids that sit in a drawer do not help anyone.  Most hearing aids today are barely visible (Receiver in Canal Aids (RIC’s) and some are invisible.

 

 

Hearing Aids Styles

 

Receiver in Canal (RIC)

IIC (Invisible in the canal)

The hearing aid itself sits discreetly behind the ear with a thin wire going into your ear canal that delivers the sound.

In Other Words

There is no best hearing aid and no one manufacturer or brand that is right for everyone. It is about what is right for you.

HEARING AID INSURANCE AND FINANCING

Some insurance plans may offer limited hearing aid benefits or discount programs. The options and choices are frequently confusing and the “fine print” details often restrictive. 

 

We are here to help you find out if you do indeed have a true hearing aid benefit and walk you through any available discount programs offered so you make the right choice for you. 

 

Specific healthcare financing programs are available that make it easy for you to receive the treatment and products you need today while paying over time. It is quick, it is easy, and there are no annual fees.

 

We will help you apply for 12 month no interest, or extended low interest payments.