Hearing Aids
Western Colorado Hearing and Balance is your source for the most advanced hearing technology from professional, trusted hearing experts. Whether you are active and on-the-go, or living life at a more leisurely pace, there is a solution to fit the needs of your hearing loss and your lifestyle. There are many factors you need to consider when choosing a hearing aid. Understanding your hearing needs and the various hearing aid devices available is essential to choosing the right solution for your specific needs. Our hearing doctors will help you find the most appealing and comfortable device. The first step in finding the right solution for your hearing loss is to call our office to schedule a hearing evaluation.
Western Colorado Hearing and Balance offers hearing aids from all major manufacturers that provide state of the art sound processing and can be virtually invisible on your ear. Current hearing aid technology is capable of helping you hear better in even the most challenging and noisy listening environments. Many of today’s hearing aids are also capable of communicating wirelessly with your phone, computer, television, MP3 player and many other devices! Western Colorado Hearing and Balance offers the best selection of hearing aids.
Two styles (receiver-in-canal and completely-in-canal) are the industry leaders and represent the majority of our modern day fittings.
Hearing and Communication Needs Assessment
At Western Colorado Hearing & Balance, we are dedicated to providing hearing aids that are properly fit and customized to every individual patients needs. Hearing aid assessments are part of the fitting process and help to ensure the appropriate hearing aids / assistive devices are selected and properly fit. Hearing aid assessments may consist of the following:
Acceptable Noise Level
Determining acceptable noise intensities while listening to speech.
QuickSIN
The QuickSIN is a speech-in-noise test that measures the ability to hear in noise. Speech understanding in noise cannot be reliably predicted from the audiogram or other standard hearing tests.
Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit
The APHAB is a valuable clinical instrument. It is useful for quantifying the disability associated with a hearing loss and the reduction of disability that is achieved with a hearing aid or assistive device.
Hearing Aid / Assistive Device Demonstration
The hearing aid / assistive device demonstration consists of fitting the appropriate device based upon the above-mentioned tests along with a discussion on the appropriate technology and features that will most benefit the patient. This demonstration allows the patient to experience the benefit of the hearing aids / assistive device in their own environment where they encounter the most difficulty.
Conformity/Real Ear Verification
REAL EAR Measurement represents a valid, repeatable and reliable method of assessing the sound pressure level in the ear canal with or without a hearing instrument in-situ, via a calibrated probe tube placed 3mm-5mm from the tympanic membrane. The primary purpose of REM is to measure the performance of a hearing instrument while in the patient’s ear to ensure that sounds are audible, comfortable and tolerable across the frequencies of the patient’s reduced dynamic range.