Audiology and Hearing Aids

The price of hearing aids varies depending on the following features:

• Audio processing speed

• Feedback suppression

• Included auxiliary programs (tinnitus, speech rescue, etc.)

• Number of channels and bands on which sounds are processed

• Noise suppression features

• Microphone features

• Technological platform

• Connection options

The warranty period for Oticon, Philips, Bernafon branded hearing aids sold at Optimum Hearing Centers is 2 years.

Hearing aids placed in the ear are single-piece devices (speaker, microphone, processor and battery all in one) that are custom-made according to the person's ear size. They are placed in the ear canal. Behind-the-ear hearing aids are devices used with ear molds or domes that are custom-made according to the person's ear size. In miniRite devices, the microphone, processor and battery are located in the main body behind the ear, while the speaker is located in the ear canal. In BTE devices, the microphone, processor, battery and speaker are located in the main body behind the ear. The sounds received and processed from the environment are delivered to the ear canal through the ear mold.

The patient's age, lifestyle, level of hearing loss, need for connection options, presence or absence of ear discharge, structure of the ear canal, aesthetic preferences, and manual dexterity should be taken into consideration when selecting a hearing aid.

As in all cases, early diagnosis and intervention are of vital importance in hearing aid application. Even if the degree of your existing hearing loss is small, not hearing the sounds you need to hear may cause you not to understand/miss conversations in noisy and crowded environments. Since sounds that are not heard properly are not perceived by the brain, you start to forget these sounds over time. Even if you use a device in the future, it is very difficult to replace the forgotten sounds and the ability to understand. For this reason, if you have hearing loss, you should prevent this loss by using a hearing aid as early as possible and continue to hear the sounds fully.

This information that we often hear among the public is absolutely wrong. When our brain, which allows us to hear and understand, is not stimulated and is not exposed to sound, it becomes weak, lazy and loses its hearing ability. To prevent this, we need to continue to hear all sounds.

Hearing aids do not provide a permanent cure for your current hearing loss. They allow you to re-establish and improve your verbal and auditory communication by allowing you to hear sounds, conversations, and noises around you as you should.

It is recommended that you put on your hearing aids when you wake up in the morning and use them actively until you go to sleep at night, except for situations such as bathing and showering. Make sure your ear is dry before using your hearing aid .

Since sounds that are not fully heard due to hearing loss are not perceived by the brain, you start to forget these sounds over time. Your complaint of “ I hear but I don’t understand” means that you hear sounds/speech incompletely and therefore there are forgotten words/syllables. Even if you use a device in the future, it is very difficult to regain forgotten sounds and the ability to understand. Hearing aids do not restore your ability to understand that has decreased over time. State-of-the-art hearing aids reduce the effort you spend to hear and understand sounds and offer auditory solutions that allow you to use your current ability to understand at the maximum level with the support provided to the brain.

Hearing, just like seeing, is a bilateral brain activity. It is very important to be able to hear bilaterally to determine the direction and source of sound. Since your brain processes the sounds you hear from both sides, thanks to bilateral listening; it determines the source of the sounds better, hears distant sounds more easily, and allows you to hear conversations in noisy environments more clearly. In this way, you get the optimum benefit from your hearing aids. You get less tired thanks to your hearing aids that present the listening and understanding load you do with one ear by coming from both ears and imitating the natural structure.

Many factors such as age, gender, length of time with hearing loss, current setting of the hearing aid, length of time using hearing aids, etc. affect your adaptation period.

If you have just started using hearing aids; you may experience difficulties during battery change, cleaning, removing and inserting of hearing aids. You can overcome these difficulties by reading user manuals and guides or asking for help from a hearing care professional.

Since you start hearing forgotten sounds again with the use of hearing aids, the sounds you hear may seem disturbing and perceived as noise. Using your hearing aids regularly every day will increase your adaptation speed. In addition, the automatic adaptation programs included in the latest technology hearing aids will increase the sounds over time depending on the person's daily use and will ensure that your adaptation process is healthier.

Our hearing aids, which can reduce background noise that disturbs people, have the ability to suppress background noise and highlight speech sounds, depending on the platform features they are used on. For detailed information and to try our hearing aids, especially in noisy environments, you can visit the nearest OPTİMUM branches.

The intense radiation during X-ray imaging and the magnetic fields emitted by MRI imaging systems can cause your hearing aids to malfunction. For this reason, it is recommended that hearing aids be removed before the procedure.

The radiation emitted by detectors located at the entrances of places such as shopping malls, hospitals, airports, etc. does not have any effect on hearing aids.

Many hearing aid models have Bluetooth functionality. Unless specifically permitted by aircraft personnel, you can turn off your hearing aids or put them in flight mode during takeoff and landing. Other than this, there is no obstacle to using your hearing aids.

Your hearing aids are dust-resistant and protected against water ingress. They are manufactured with an IP68 certification so that they can be used in everyday situations. However, protect your hearing aids from contact with all kinds of liquids and chemicals (hair spray, medication, cosmetics, etc.). Always remove your aids when taking a bath or performing ablution. Do not start using them without making sure your ears are dry.

You can continue to make phone calls while using your hearing aids. If you want your phone calls to be more comfortable, want to listen to music, watch videos, and continue your life without being disconnected from social media with your hearing aids, you can hear all sounds without loss with our Made For iPhone hearing aids and your compatible phone (iPhone 5S and above). You can also connect to your Android phones and change programs, turn the volume of your hearing aid on and off. However, you need ConnectClip to be able to transfer sound. For more detailed information, visit our connectclip page.