Hearing Aid Repair Warranties

There are two types of warranties that are usually included in the purchase price of hearing aids.  They are:

--Loss and Damage Warranty

--Repair Warranty

A Loss and Damage Warranty will allow the wearer to replace each aid once if the instrument is loss.  Each hearing aid manufacturer usually charges a restocking fee to replace a lost hearing aid.  This fee ranges from $150 to $200 depending on the manufacturer.

A Repair Warranty will insure the hearing aid in the event it needs a repair the audiologist is not able to perform.  A repair warranty usually lasts for two years.  Once the repair warranty expires, each out of warranty repair the manufacturer may perform will cost a flat fee of at least $225.  This is why we highly recommend keeping the repair warranty on hearing aids current.   Appalachian Audiology sends out letters roughly one month in advance to alert each patient that their hearing aid repair warranty is about to expire.  We charge $150 to extend a repair warranty for 12 months.  If your hearing aid needs a repair that the audiologists are not able to perform, this charge will cover the repair warranty extension and strictly limit any financial liability of the patient. 

Appalachian Audiology offers no charge service for the life of all hearing instruments purchased through us.  Click here for more information! 

How Do I Know If I Need My Hearing Tested?

Ask Yourself:

• Do you often say“I can hear you, but I can't understand what you're saying”?
• Is it hard to hear conversations in crowded places like restaurants?
• Do you find children's or women's voices hard to hear?
• Do you need the TV volume louder than others?
• Does your family get frustrated repeating themselves?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it's time to have your hearing evaluated!

Take an online hearing test!

For more information on when to have your hearing evaluated visit our website.

Optimizing Your Hearing Aid Experience by Training Your Brain to Listen

Dr. Robert Sweetown, Professor of Otolaryngology, University of California has created a patient counseling article to help consumers understand why training the brain to listen is so important in optimizing the hearing aid experience. To read this article from The Better Hearing Institute,  click here!

Understand Conversations In Noisy Places!

LACE Software Training

Whether you wear hearing aids or simply wish to improve your listening skills, LACE training improves the brains ability to comprehend speech up to 40% better in difficult listening situations such as noisy restaurants, fast talkers, and competing voices.  On average, studies show that those who complete 10 sessions of LACE enjoy 33% greater speech-in-noise intelligibility.  Those who complete 20 sessions enjoy 43% greater speech-in-noise intelligibility.

 Click here to learn more about LACE training!

Hearing Aids 101

A hearing aid is an electronic device usually worn in or behind the ear to amplify sound.  More than 1,000 different models are available in the United States. All of them include a microphone (to pick up sound), amplifier (to boost sound strength), a receiver or speaker (to deliver sound to the ear), and are powered by a battery. Depending on the style, it's possible to add features to filter or block out background noise, minimize feedback or lower sound in noisy settings.  Hearing aids are either "monoaural" (a hearing aid for one ear), or "binaural" (for two ears); more than 65% of all users have binaural aids.

 Click here to view the different styles of hearing aids.

A hearing aid enhances sound so you can hear better. Since hearing loss is gradual, it's common to become unaccustomed to environmental sounds such as traffic noise or background conversation. Because of this, when a person begins wearing a hearing aid, it is necessary to re-educate the brain to practice selective listening, the ability to choose only those sounds which you wish to hear.

For more information, visit our website!

Troubleshooting Your Hearing Aids

Does your hearing aid ever:

• Whistle or give feedback?
• Sound weaker than normal?
• Go dead without warning?
• Give a scratchy sound or go off/on?

Click here for some helpful troubleshooting tips!

A Cure for Tinnitus?

Tinnitus (TIN-a-tus) is commonly described as "ringing in the ears." It is defined as the perception of sound in the head when no external sound is present. In addition to "ringing," head noises have been described as hissing, roaring, whooshing, clicking, pulsing, and whistling.  Ringing and head noises can occur in one ear or both ears, and can be perceived to be occurring inside or outside the ear.  It can accompany hearing loss or exist independent of hearing loss.

A variety of factors including earwax blockage, stress, antiobiotics, and age-related hearing loss can lead to or worsen tinnitus.  While it is a fairly common problem, there are many effective methods to treat or at least reduce the severity of its symptoms.  Investigating its underlying cause, examining possible hearing instruments that "mask" the noise it creates, and counseling are all possible components of a comprehensive treatment plan for managing tinnitus.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association offers helpful insight on treating tinnitus.

While there is no known cure for tinnitus, hearing aids can help manage its symptoms.  However, they are only one component of a comprehensive approach to helping people cope with this condition.

Read how hearing aids can help manage the symptoms of tinnitus.

For more information on tinnitus, visit our website.