Hearing Aids Colorado Springs

Testimonials for Sandia Hearing Aid Center, premium provider of hearing aids Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs Hearing Aids, Evaluations & Check Ups

Are you searching for a hearing aid specialist in Southern Colorado?

Sandia Hearing Center offers such services as hearing tests and evaluations, hearing aid device repair, and annual checkups. We also offer a fine selection of hearing aids to choose from such as Siemens, Unitron, Oticon, Resound, The Phonak Group, Starkey and Westone.

Learn the steps to better hearing with hearing aids Colorado Springs

At the Sandia Hearing Aid Center, we follow an easy 9-step process to ensure all our customers receive the best service possible.

Frequently asked questions about hearing aids Colorado Springs

Why might a person need a hearing aid?

Hearing loss can have many different causes, and thus there are many reasons why someone might need a hearing aid.

There are two main types of hearing loss. Conductive hearing loss occurs when the outer or middle ear is damaged or obstructed, stopping sound from being transmitted to the inner ear. This can be caused by a growth or tumor, infection, ear wax impaction or a number of other causes. Conductive hearing loss is usually treatable with medical intervention, although some kinds are not, and hearing aids can help in these cases. However, hearing aids are mainly used to treat sensorineural hearing loss, which is the most common type.

Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when sound signals have trouble getting to the brain, due to damage to the auditory nerve or the small hair-like cells inside the inner ear. This kind of hearing loss can come on suddenly or gradually. Sudden hearing loss can be brought on by a traumatic injury, an extremely loud noise, a disease or infection such as meningitis. Hearing can also get worse over time, and the main causes of this are old age, genetics, and prolonged exposure to loud noise (for example, if you have spent years working on a building site). Most kinds of sensorineural hearing loss can be treated with a hearing aid.

There are lots of different kinds of hearing aids. As different kinds of hearing loss can all affect your hearing in different ways, hearing aids can be tailored to your individual needs.

So, if you have noticed that your hearing is getting worse – for example, if you have to ask people to repeat themselves a lot, or you have to turn the TV volume up higher and higher every time you watch it – a hearing aid Colorado Springs may be able to help you.

How do hearing aids work?

There are several types of hearing aids, and they are all slightly different. However, they all work in basically the same way.

Firstly, the microphone detects sound waves from the air, then converts them into digital signals. The amplifier takes these digital signals and makes them stronger (louder). The receiver then converts the digital signals into vibrations, which go through the inner ear and into the brain. Your brain interprets these vibrations as sound.

Inside the hearing aid is also a microchip, which is like a tiny computer. This helps the hearing aid to make the sound cleaner, and also decide which sounds need amplifying (such as the sound of someone speaking to you), and which sounds don’t (such as the noise from background traffic). This microchip allows the hearing aid to be customizable for your personal needs, as everyone’s hearing loss and lifestyles are different. It also allows the hearing aid to operate under different settings for different environments.

Older analog hearing aids are much simpler, and work by amplifying all sound. They are not as ‘smart’ and can’t distinguish between different noses. Analog hearing aids are quite rare these days, as almost all new hearing aids produced are digital.

What are the different kinds of hearing aids?

Behind the ear (BTE) hearing aids are the most common. They are made up of a device that sits behind the ear which connects to a small ear piece inside the ear. These are the kind that you may have noticed people wearing, as they are visible on the outside. BTE hearing aids are suitable for mild to profound hearing loss and come in a range of different colors. They are usually the least expensive type to buy. Receiver in canal (RIC) hearing aids are similar, but tend to be less visible as the external part is smaller.

Some hearing aids Colorado Springs are even smaller, and are designed to sit inside the ear rather than behind it.  In the ear (ITE) hearing aids fill the inside of the ear and extend just past the opening. While they are still visible, they aren’t noticeable from behind. These types of hearing aids Colorado Springs are still suitable for most kinds of hearing loss, but can be trickier to use.

In the canal (ITC) and completely in the canal (CIC) hearing aids are even smaller, and often go completely unnoticed! They sit inside the ear and are designed to be barely visible. You can choose a color which matches your skin tone. However, these are usually not powerful enough to be used by people with severe hearing loss.

The most modern type of hearing aid, invisible in the canal (IIC), sits even further inside the ear and is almost completely invisible from the outside. They are so small and tricky to use that some can only be put in and taken out by a specialist.

How can I be sure that a hearing aid will help me?

If you think that you might be losing your hearing for whatever reason, there’s a good chance that hearing aids Colorado Springs could help you. Hearing aids can be tailored to suit most different types of hearing loss and adjusted to fit individual needs and lifestyles. However, if you’re unsure, why not take our free 5 minute hearing quiz? If you discover that you are struggling with hearing loss, we can set you up with a free hearing evaluation and discuss things with you in more detail.

Contact us for an appointment. We’d be happy to provide you with customized hearing aids Colorado Springs advice according to your schedule.