If you’re reading this, you’ve taken the first step in the right direction for addressing your hearing loss challenges with the help of professional guidance and recommendations.
With every website selling you something different and a host of solutions at varying price points that all hold the same promises, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed!
The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that hearing loss’s prevalence will double by 2050. You have a 25-year head start by exploring options here and now in 2025.
Hearing Tech vs. Hearing Care
Many individuals out there associate hearing aids with being the “solution” to hearing loss, but as many of our previous patients will tell you, the technology is just a tool to support you on your hearing health journey.
The reality is that the relationship you build with your trusted hearing care professional is what makes the biggest difference to your hearing health. With an expert’s guidance leading the way, you can make informed decisions for the betterment of your hearing without a worry.
Our team of audiologists is full to the brim with expertise and advice to support you as you optimize your hearing, from the best testing methods to understand your hearing capabilities to the most suitable technology to address what you need.
No matter what your hearing health concern, the care you receive from the experts you choose to partner with, in addition to the great technology itself, makes a huge difference.
What Are Your Options to Optimize Your Hearing?
Whether you’re looking for a do-it-yourself solution at home or a journey marked with continued support and guidance, you have several options available to help address hearing loss challenges.
1. Personal Sound Amplification Products (PSAPs)
PSAPs amplify all sound that the microphone built into the device picks up, allowing for quick sound amplification in a variety of situations. These are akin to magnifying glasses in that they work for very general assistance but aren’t personalized to your unique needs.
PSAPs pick up all sounds, not just the ones you want to hear. They’re good for a volume boost, but for more intricate hearing needs, these might not be the best option for you.
2. Over-the-Counter (OTC) Hearing Aids
Federally authorized in 2022, OTC hearing aids provide an accessible option for addressing mild hearing loss challenges. Available at most drugstores and grocery stores, these hearing aids are preprogrammed to address some hearing loss.
However, we’d equate these to “readers” glasses you can also get from the grocery store: good for some situations, but not all. OTC hearing aids do not come equipped for your specific hearing loss needs after a hearing test.
OTC hearing aids also do not address other hearing concerns, like tinnitus, auditory processing disorder, or hearing loss due to infection or earwax buildup. If you’re dealing with any of those factors as well as hearing challenges, over-the-counter hearing aids might be too generic for what you need.
3. Apple AirPods Pro 2—Hearing Aid Features
In September 2024, the audiology world was buzzing with the news that Apple’s iOS 18 would include some hearing care features, including an in-app hearing test and the ability to utilize the AirPods Pro 2 for sound amplification needs.
Touted as a “clinical hearing aid” equivalent, Apple’s new features aren’t their first foray into hearing care, but they’re certainly one of the most extensive.
Apple has made huge strides in the aim of normalizing hearing care and hearing aids, especially with the help of their viral commercial “Heartstrings,” which has garnered over 50 million views since its release in December 2024. But their features left some of us wanting.
Their in-app hearing test is similar to a pure-tone audiometry test, assessing general hearing loss challenges that the AirPods Pro 2 can help alleviate. However, a comprehensive hearing test from an audiologist is significantly more exhaustive, and it can address hearing challenges from tinnitus or earwax buildup, which Apple’s cannot.
The AirPods Pro 2 act as customizable hearing amplifiers, allowing for some personalization based on the results of your hearing test in the app, but concerns regarding their short battery life, conspicuous appearance, and accuracy for addressing hearing loss have left some wearers feeling unsatisfied.
If you take the Apple hearing test and it shows hearing loss challenges in your results, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to learn more about what your ears need to succeed.
4. Costco’s Kirkland-Branded Hearing Aids
Costco has long been a retailer of hearing aids, and their Kirkland-branded devices often come up in conversation with our patients, who ask about the differences between our hearing aids and theirs.
Costco’s hearing aids come after an in-store hearing test that’s similar to Apple’s pure-tone audiometry test, and you can take your new devices for a test run in the store to see how they work in a busy, noisy environment. They’re inexpensive and quick to access for people with Costco memberships.
However, Costco is first and foremost a retailer; if you’re looking for follow-up care or need a repair, you could be waiting weeks for an appointment. Their devices also seek to “solve” hearing loss, rather than manage it, so you won’t get the full experience that your ears deserve.
5. Working With a Local Audiology Clinic
For all your hearing health concerns, from tinnitus management and earwax removal to hearing aids and cognitive screening, working with a local clinic of passionate professionals is your best bet.
While you’ll have to book multiple appointments, you can rest assured that any and all of your hearing health concerns will be addressed with us. Our expert team has your best interests at heart and will work with you to ensure that your treatment plan is crafted to your unique needs.
If your hearing test reveals the need for hearing aids, our team will work with you to help find the best devices for your prescription, lifestyle, and budget requirements.
To learn more about hearing care, what Duncan Hearing Healthcare can help you with, or to chat with a member of our team about your unique situation, we encourage you to get in touch with us via our website or by giving us a call at your closest clinic.
We’re here to help with every step of your hearing health journey!
