The new year brings with it ample opportunities for goal setting and resolutions to take us through 2025. If one of your resolutions this year is to take care of your hearing health, you’re in the right place.
By 2050, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.5 billion people will have some degree of hearing loss. You’ve got a 25-year head start on addressing your hearing challenges, which is a great start – but with so many options out and about to choose from, which is best for you?
From the do-it-yourself route to the professional guided route, there are multiple ways to address hearing challenges in 2025, but they’re not one size fits all; here are some of the different ways to optimize your hearing and some considerations to keep in mind.
Hearing Care Versus Assistive Hearing Devices
Many individuals out there see hearing aids or assistive hearing technology as the destination on your hearing health journey, but as many of our previous patients will tell you, great tech is just one stop on your journey to better hearing outcomes.
The truth is that the relationship you build with your co-pilot—your audiologist—is what makes the biggest difference to your hearing and holistic health. With hearing aids alone, it’s like having glasses with no prescription from your optician.
The best hearing technology options are those provided by the recommendation of your audiologist or hearing care specialist. Whether you’re looking for care that holds your hand along every step or an option that you can navigate solo, there are tons of great options out there that your hearing expert can recommend with your unique circumstances in mind.
What Are My Options for Addressing My Hearing Challenges?
Some of your options for addressing your hearing challenges include:
#1 – Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs)
PSAPs are a great option for a quick solution at home; they come with a built-in microphone that takes in all sound and amplifies it, providing louder sound in all environments.
We’d equate these to “readers” glasses from the store: a reasonable fix for some situations but not all of them. PSAPs are great for amplifying all sound, but if you need specific frequencies boosted over others, these are a general option that may not work for more intricate hearing challenges.
#2 – Apple AirPods Pro 2 – Hearing Aid Features
During 2024, the audiology and hearing aid industries were alight with the news about Apple’s latest ventures into hearing care. In October 2024, they released iOS 18, including some impressive hearing health features, such as testing your hearing at home and using your AirPods Pro 2 set as assistive listening devices.
These can be a great user-friendly option for individuals looking for quick noise amplification or those curious to see what their hearing levels are at with the help of Apple’s hearing test, but we’d put these on a similar level to testing your eyes at home and ordering glasses online: a fix that works for some situations but not all.
Apple’s hearing test is a pure-tone audiometry test, wherein you respond to different tones at different pitches and volumes that you can hear. A hearing assessment from an audiologist would not only include a pure-tone test but also various others to help further understand the complexity of your hearing loss – including if a buildup of earwax, tinnitus, or infection is the culprit.
These hearing features from Apple represent a huge step forward in normalizing hearing care and assistive hearing tech, but they won’t work for everyone. If you took Apple’s hearing test at home and the results pointed to a hearing loss, we recommend visiting an audiologist to get a more comprehensive understanding of your hearing loss challenges.
#3 – Over-the-Counter (OTC) Hearing Aids
Federally authorized in 2022, over-the-counter hearing aids are accessible and affordable for those with hearing loss challenges looking for a budget fix. OTC hearing aids lifted many barriers for individuals who needed hearing aids but could not previously acquire them due to the premium investment.
These are also similar to readers in that they work for many individuals but not all. OTC devices come preprogrammed; this means that if you have a specific frequency or volume you need to hear at, there’s every chance that your OTC hearing aids may not come equipped to help.
OTC devices also cannot help with tinnitus challenges or auditory processing disorder. Without the professional’s assistance in prescription and care, some have found frustration in the lack of an audiologist’s expertise.
#4 – Costco/Big Box Store Hearing Aids
Costco has long been a hearing aid retailer, and their Kirkland-branded hearing aids are fitted in-store after a pure-tone audiometry test, similar to the test given by the Apple hearing care features.
Costco hearing aids are a quick, affordable, and well-working option for many forms of hearing loss, but their retailer status can make follow-up care or maintenance tricky.
Appointment times can be dicey and leave you stranded without your devices for weeks while you wait for an appointment. Costco sees hundreds, if not thousands, of people each day – they’re focused on making sure you have a working solution, not a life-changing fix to assist long-term hearing challenges.
#5 – Working with a Local Clinic
All hearing loss challenges, including concerns about tinnitus, earwax impaction, and more, can be alleviated with the help of a local clinic headed by a team of passionate audiologists.
For a professional approach to your hearing health that keeps your unique needs as a person, not just a patient, at front of mind, working with a local clinic for your better hearing health is the best way to go.
Lasting results, quick follow-up care, personalized treatment, and working with a team of professionals that want to help you win – it almost sounds too good to be true, right?
If your hearing loss requires hearing aids to bolster your hearing capabilities, we can dispense, fit, program, and maintain your devices in-house so you won’t go a day without your crucial healthcare investment.
We also offer help with balance disorders, personalized tinnitus treatment, and hearing protection to keep your hearing safe and well looked after.
Start Your Hearing Health Journey with Denton Hearing Health Care
We’re here to help, every step of the way! For comprehensive hearing care with a personalized touch that puts your unique needs first, you’re in the right place.
Feel free to request a callback to get your questions answered, concerns alleviated, or to chat with a member of our team about your unique situation.
Don’t want to wait? Give us a call at 940-387-0550 for a more immediate conversation.
