Hearing Aids South Africa

The use of hearing aids South Africa and hearing loss is not something that only affects the older generation, there are many young people who have hearing loss of some degree or another. Some people lose their hearing as they get older, some lose their hearing due to continuous loud noise, music or general excessive noise.  Hearing loss could also be hereditary.  There are different types of hearing loss and a qualified Audiologist would be able to do an assessment of a person through a hearing test to determine the type and degree of of loss.

What can be done with hearing loss?

An Audiologist or ear nose and throat specialist will be able to do a hearing test after a thorough evaluation of a person’s loss of hearing and will be able decide what treatment would be necessary to help restore hearing whether wholly or partially.  One of the methods that is helpful is to fit the person with a hearing aid South Africa.  Your ear nose and throat specialist will more than likely recommend a hearing aid and will either recommend the type of hearing aid that might be needed.  Or you maybe referred to a qualified Audiologist who can recommend what hearing aid would be best.

What is a hearing aid and how does it work

To understand what a hearing aid South Africa is, if you imagine what a stereo sound system does, which amplified and processes sound, that’s what a hearing aid does, however the technology is much more complex as this technology has to fit in to a very small device, that can fit behind the ear or on the ear, or even be small enough to fit into the ear canal.

There are three major components, all of which are fitted inside a small protective plastic case about the size of the tip of your index finger.  The three components are:

1. The microphone, this will change the sound it receives from the air and converts it into an electrical signal.
2. 2. The amplifier will increase the intensity of the electrical signal using filters that selectively modify sound.  These filters are capable of filtering unwanted noise and selecting sound that are required by the person with a hearing loss.  Very often the sound of another person’s voice needs to be amplified, but background noise needs to be filtered out so that the voice can be heard more clearly.
3. 3. The speaker is able to change the electrical signal that has been filtered and amplified back to an acoustic signal, this helps the wearer hear and understand what is being heard.  The wearer is able to adjust the volume to improve clarity of sound.

Types of hearing aids

Today there are four main types of hearing aids that can be fitted:

• Behind the ear (BTE) this aid fits behind the ear and has a separate mould that connects the aid to the ear.
• In the ear (ITE) this aid is especially designed to fit entirely into the ear canal.
• In the canal (ITC) this aid is much smaller and is also especially designed to fit into the lower portion of the canal.
• Completely in the canal (CITC) the aid is especially designed to fit very deeply inside the ear canal, it has a more natural sound, one can use the telephone comfortably, and extraneous noise such as wind is lessened.

A hearing aid is an excellent advantage to a person who has suffered any degree of hearing loss, it makes for more comfortable hearing and less strain on the ears. Having a hearing aid South Africa, fitted can benefit many people to live a more comfortable and productive life.

Hearing Aids Prices

Hearing aids prices can vary depending on the quality, sensitivity and design as well as the manufacturers/company. Hearing aids are necessary for some people who require help with hearing.  Once you have been diagnosed with a hearing loss, you will need to get a hearing aid.  Your doctor will probably book you with a qualified audiologist. They will have the latest testing equipment and because of their training they are able to assess which hearing aid is best suited to your type of hearing loss.  The Audiologist will also be able to discuss hearing aid prices with you .

Some Audiologists may work for a specific hearing aid company; others will have a practice of their own and sell different makes of hearing aids.  South Africa deals with a number of different hearing aid suppliers, usually top quality companies that offer a good choice of hearing aids to suit different people’s budget as well as their specific hearing loss.

Hearing Aid Prices

Prices of hearing aids range from R4,000  up to around R18,000. The price is determined on the technology used for each hearing aid.  Available today are analog hearing aids to sophisticated digital hearing aid.

• An entry level hearing aid will be between R4,000 up around R6,000, these are usually designed for people with a low level of hearing loss.
• A budget range of between R6,000 to R8,000 will give a wider range of aids for a variety of different hearing needs.
• A mid range of around R8,000 to R12,000 will offer a more sophisticated range with greater technology.
• The higher end of the Scale with prices ranging between R12.00 up to R18,000 will be of a much high sophistication of technology, digital hearing aids fall  into this category.  These ads are computer assisted for greater clarity and some operate remotely with a remote control.

Medical Aids

Depending on the Medical Aid Company, some will pay the full price of an aid you may be prescribed, others may only pay a portion of the costs and you will have to pay the rest,   Some medical companies may stipulate a particular brand that they will be willing to pay, or may stipulate a threshold of price range they are willing to pay.  You will need to consult with your medical aid to find out what they are mandated to pay for hearing loss.

People who cannot afford the hearing aid prices and could approach their local government hospital; they do have a program for assisting people with hearing loss to obtain a hearing aid to help them.  At a government hospital you will not have much choice among the different suppliers, but you will be supplied with an aid that is suitable to your hearing loss.

If you are experiencing difficulty in hearing people, contact your doctor, or a qualified audiologist, have a hearing test to determine your degree of hearing loss, and which hearing aid will be ideal for your needs and your budget.

Hearing Test

Taking a hearing test will help you to determine the degree of hearing loss you may have and the results will assist your audiologist to prescribe the appropriate treatment. For a first time you may be worried about the test, the procedure is not difficult and it is painless.

Understanding your hearing test

The Audiologist

You need to understand what your Audiologist is looking for.  The Audiologist will do number different tests to find out exactly where your hearing loss is located.  Before your start the tests the Audiologist will need to take a medical history, he or she will ask you question about your health, medications you may be taking, if there is a history of hearing loss in your family.  The Audiologist will also need to know if you have had a accident, illness or any physical damage to your ears.

Examining your ears

The first part of the hearing test your Audiologist will need to do an examination of your ears he or she will look in to your ears with a cone shaped Otoscope instrument that has a light, which will show if there are abnormalities in the ear that can be determined with this examination.  The ear drum, ear canal is the two main areas that will be looked at.

The Sound Room/booth

You will then be asked to go into a soundproofed room, you will sit in a chair and the Audiologist will fit a set of head phones over both ear, you will be given a button that you will need to press each time you hear a sound. The Audiologist will leave you in the room and close the door to prevent any outside noise coming in.

The Tests

The first part of the tests is the pure tone test, the Audiologist will use a audiometer to electronically generate the pure tones which you will indicate which ones you hear by pressing the button.  This will tell the Audiologist at what level you hear these tones. Your ears will be tested individually.  You will be able to see the Audiologist through a window so you don’t fee cut off.

The next test is a bone conductor test. A bone conductor device is attached to your head, this is not painful, and you may feel a vibration on the bone behind the ear. The tone test is repeated and you will indicate the sounds when you hear them in the same manner as the previous test.

The next test is the speech test, you will receive a number of words and you need to repeat the words back to the Audiologist, the words will become soft and you will tell the Audiologist when you no longer hear the words.

The Middle ear will be checked using a probe, this is called an impedance test, air pressure the pumped into the ear at an increased and the decreased pressure, at the same time a tone is presented to the ear.  While this is being done a machine will generate a graph with the results

Test Results

After these tests the results will be analyzed and depending on the results, further tests may be needed.   The results will be explained to you and then the Audiologist after completing all hearing tests will give you a detailed explanation of the results and recommend if you need a hearing aid.