Customized Hearing Technology in Magnolia

Most people avoid hearing aids like the plague.

There is a stigma attached to hearing aids that has been around since they were first offered as a solution to hearing challenges, but that is slowly changing.

The advancements in digital technology used in today’s smartphones is also transforming hearing aids, making them smaller, lighter weight, more discreet to wear, more powerful, and loaded with features that improve your hearing aid experience.

Patient Inserting Hearing Aid Technology at Magonolia Hearing

You are probably wondering, “How do I get my hands on advanced technology hearing aids in Magnolia?”

You’re in luck! Magnolia Hearing provides advanced level personalized amplification for optimal hearing that is designed to overcome the unique hearing challenges you’re facing without making you sacrifice your lifestyle and personal preferences.

Take a moment to learn how advanced hearing technology solutions are transforming hearing care.

Common Features of Today’s Prescription Hearing Aids

More Frequencies

Like a standard radio, older analogue hearing aids amplified sound in two channels: treble and bass. Today’s digital hearing aids provide a “mixer board” of frequencies, allowing hearing aids to be programmed to amplify some frequencies and not amplify frequencies you hear naturally.

No More Whistling

Whistling or squealing sounds were common with analogue hearing aids and were a source of embarrassment for hearing aid wearers. Modern hearing aids are designed to detect the tone and wave shape causing the feedback and eliminate it within fractions of a second.

More Natural Sound

Feedback management made it possible to develop hearing devices that do not obstruct the natural passage of sound into your ears. Open-fitting, which allows non-amplified sounds to enter your ears along with processed sounds, produces a natural and more comfortable user experience.

Elimination of Background Noise

A drawback of analogue hearing aids was that they amplified all sounds, including background noise. Consequently, the distinction between speech and the noise of air conditioners, noise from a crowded room, traffic, and other noises was impossible.

Today’s hearing aids are able to distinguish between speech and background noise, assigning each to different frequency bands. Your hearing aids will amplify the sounds you want to hear and reduce the amplification of the noises you don’t want to hear.

Directional Microphones

Another way modern hearing aids help handle background noise is through the use of multiple directional microphones. Directional microphones pinpoint the location of the sounds and conversations around you and a conversation in front of you, making it possible to separate the sounds and amplify only the conversation you’re engaged in.

Streaming and Connectivity Capabilities

Improving your ability to use your hearing aids more comfortably and more effectively is a benefit of the streaming and connectivity capabilities of today’s hearing aids. Linking your hearing aids directly to your smartphone, digital stereo, television, and personal stereos (e.g., iPods and MP3 players), allows you to enhance the performance of your hearing aids when using external devices.

Preprogrammed Options

You don’t need the benefits provided by directional microphones and noise reduction features in a quiet room like you would in a restaurant, at a sporting event, or a concert. Modern hearing aid technology makes it easier to create listening profiles for different listening environments and then toggle through them as you move from one place to another.

Machine Learning and AI Features

Recent innovations in machine learning and artificial intelligence make it possible for your hearing aids to identify sound environment changes as you move from one location to another. Using the data gathered, your hearing aids automatically adjust to the optimal sound profile of each environment.

Greater Convenience

With older hearing aids, you had to change batteries every few days or once a week, but with advancements in battery and charging technology, you can recharge your hearing aids while you sleep and then have plenty of energy to power your hearing aids the following day.

Hearing Aid Fitting and Programming in Magnolia, WA

Your hearing challenges drastically affect your relationships and your ability to enjoy an active and independent lifestyle. Hearing aids have the capacity to restore relationships and help you enjoy a better quality of life.

By working with our expert audiologists for hearing aid prescriptions, you have access to a team of hearing care professionals dedicated to addressing unique challenges and meeting your unique needs with tailored hearing aid solutions in Magnolia.

As an independent hearing aid clinic, we work toward establishing long-term relationships with each patient to provide the best possible hearing solutions.

Proper hearing aid fitting and programming includes:

Recommending devices that address your unique type and severity of your hearing loss.
Selecting hearing instruments that meet your lifestyle needs and personal preferences.
Delivering professional programming and fitting of the selected devices.
Providing follow-up testing and counseling for 60 days, ensuring your satisfaction with the device you purchase.
A commitment to ongoing counseling, troubleshooting, maintenance, repair, testing, and upgrades for as long as you are with us.
To give you access to a broad range of choices to address your unique needs with premium hearing devices for enhanced listening capabilities, we partner with several brand name manufacturers, such as:

Numerous Hearing Aid Styles to Choose From

When you come to our expert audiologists for precise hearing aid prescriptions, you have access to a wide range of manufacturers and you can choose among the various hearing aid styles to meet your hearing and lifestyle needs as well as your personal preferences.

Behind-the-Ear (BTE) Hearing Aid Styles

Although they may look like the old analogue units, with their processing unit resting behind the ear, don’t let their appearance fool you. Today’s BTE hearing aids have the most digital processing power of all the available styles of hearing aids in order to address the most severe cases of hearing loss.

Traditional BTE Behind-the-Ear

The best solution for those with a severe to profound hearing loss, traditional BTE hearing aid styles offer directional microphones for improved hearing in background noise and feature more built in manual volume and program controls. They come in a variety of colors, and you can choose among features like custom earmolds and rechargeable or disposable battery options.

Receiver-in-Canal (RIC)/Receiver-in-the-Ear (RITE)

Another type of BTE style hearing aid, RIC/RITE hearing aids use speaker wires to transmit sound to a speaker (receiver) in the ear in place of acoustical tubing (like the traditional BTE). If this is your first pair of hearing aids, you will benefit greatly from their nearly invisible open-fit design, which provides unmatched comfort and natural sound.

In-the-Ear (ITE) Hearing Aid Styles

ITE hearing aids contain both processor and receiver within the same housing. Although the smallest ITE styles do not have the processing power of BTE devices, among their advantages are less interference with glasses, oxygen cannula, or headwear, plus they offer a more secure fit for more active individuals as well as greater wearing discretion.

The size and where they are positioned within the ear distinguishes each style included in this class of hearing aid styles.

Full Shell ITE

The largest devices in this category are full shell ITEs, which cover the entire concha of the ear. Since they are larger than the other models in their class, they provide greater processing power, are easier to insert and remove, use batteries with a longer service life, and are equipped with more manual controls.

In-the-Canal (ITC)

Although ITC hearing aids are still visible, they are smaller than full-shell ITE styles, covering only the outer portion of the ear canal. ITC hearing aids still have some of the manual controls of full-shell devices and are easier to insert than smaller devices, but they are less powerful, have smaller batteries, and have fewer or less conspicuous manual controls.

Completely-in-the-Canal (CIC)/Invisible-in-the Canal (IIC)

The two smallest styles of ITE devices are CIC and IIC styles, which are either invisible or nearly invisible. These options provide improved wearing discretion, but they are only able to address mild to moderate hearing loss, use much smaller batteries, do not have manual controls, and require fine dexterity for insertion and removal.

F.A.Qs

Frequently Asked Questions about Hearing Aids

What are prescription hearing aids, and how are they different from over-the-counter devices?

Prescription hearing aids are a higher level of technology than most OTC hearing devices, which are only designed to address mild to moderate hearing loss. They are only available from licensed audiologists or hearing instrument specialists and typically come with ongoing hearing care support that is not usually available with OTC devices.

Do I need a hearing test before getting prescription hearing aids?

Just as prescription glasses require testing to determine which lens is needed to correct your visual impairment, prescription hearing aids require testing in order to determine the severity of your hearing loss in various frequencies for proper programming.

How do you determine the right type of hearing aids for my needs?

During your hearing test, we will measure the type and severity of your hearing loss as well as get an understanding of your lifestyle and occupation. We’ll use this information to match the right hearing aids to meet your unique needs.

Can prescription hearing aids be adjusted to different listening environments?

Yes. The capacity to adjust your device to a variety of listening environments and ongoing assistance from our hearing care professionals to help you dial them into the perfect setting is one of the great benefits of advanced technology hearing aids.

Are there different styles of prescription hearing aids available?

Yes. There are a wide variety of hearing aid styles, colors, sizes, and levels of technology available.

Do you offer maintenance and support for prescription hearing aids?

Another advantage of prescription hearing aids is the ongoing maintenance, troubleshooting, support, and repair by hearing care and hearing instrument specialists.

Can I use my health insurance to cover the cost of prescription hearing aids?

Many health insurance companies cover at least some of the cost of prescription hearing aids. This financial help is not available for OTC devices.

What's the average lifespan of prescription hearing aids?

Prescription hearing aids can last up to seven years if they’re well taken care of, but the average is between three and five years. Most hearing care professionals recommend that you upgrade your hearing aids every three to five years to take advantage of new technology in a highly innovative industry.

Are there any warranties or guarantees for prescription hearing aids?

Prescription hearing aids usually come with a two to three year warranty that covers repair and replacement costs.

Schedule Your Hearing Assessment

Because the changes come on at such a slow pace, recognizing that you are experiencing hearing challenges can be difficult. Precise hearing evaluations are the best way to learn the truth about your hearing.

Magnolia Hearing is among the leading audiologist clinics in the Magnolia and Seattle areas. Our local hearing care services provide an accurate evaluation of your hearing and the most advanced technology solutions to help overcome your hearing challenges.

Submit the adjacent form to learn the truth about your hearing, and a member of our team will contact you to help schedule an appointment.

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