Siemens Artis Hearing Aids May Be the Solution for You

When you are trying to choose the right hearing aid, you may be overwhelmed by the choices on the market.  Siemens is one of the top hearing aid companies that wants to help the hearing impaired with their outstanding products.  A hearing consultant can help you narrow the many choices Siemens offers.

You'll often hear the term 'occlusion' when learning about hearing aids.  This means something which blocks the passage.  Like some hearing aids that make you feel like you have a big cotton ball stuffed in your ear, occlusion can make you more aware that you have a hearing loss.  If you've ever gone under water and tried to hear someone speaking to you who is still above water, you can understand occlusion.  You shouldn't feel intimidated by the big terms used when discussing hearing aids or hearing loss.  The person who is helping you should be willing to break the terms into more acceptable explanations so you won't walk away feeling like you just don't get it.

Siemens offers aids with digital noise management, speech enhancement, special feedback management, wind noise reduction, trial periods, and ear-to-ear aids.  There are 4 types of Artis aids alone---the BTE (behind the ear), the ITE (in the ear), the ITC (in the canal) and the CIC (completely in canal).  These can be found for $1600.

A hearing aid is not simply to allow you to hear.  It must also monitor, filter, clarify, receive, and control loudness.  For many years, people who needed aids in both aids faced additional challenges.  Siemens aids can ease that situation as well.  If your ears were damaged because of an unhealthy exposure to loud noise on a constant and regular basis, damage to both ears is often the case.  Two aids must be able to function well together rather than as 2 separate units for the best performance.  The ones Siemens makes are meant to compliment each other and work as a team.  The Artis e2e can be found for $1500.  Although with this aid, you do have the control to make manual adjustments, they work in sync.  A remote control further aids your adjustment capabilities.  It can work with only one aid or with an aid in each ear.

The Siemens Artis 2 Life sells for $1100.  Feedback is stopped before it happens so there's no uncomfortable squealing whistle to scare those around you.  A high pitched sound breaking through the air suddenly can keep a person on edge if it happens often.  The Artis 2 Life has an adaptive directional microphone to help you get the most out of the system.  If also offers wind screen and automatically adjusts for telephone usage.  Battery life is 120 hours.

The Siemens Artis S sells for $1600.  The pocket remote is optional and has readouts for volume, program number, and battery life (a whopping 190 hours!).  This aid is for mild to moderate loss.  

Siemens also offers Artis hearing aids as a full shell, half shell, canal, mini canal, and CIC at price ranges from $1350 to $1450.  All are available with the remote control option for $150.

Some Choice in BTE Hearing Aids

Many of the excellent hearing aids come in a variety of styles including BTE (behind the ear), ITE (in the ear), ITC (in the canal), MC (mini canal), and CIC (completely in the canal).  Some manufacturers, though, make special models that are specifically designed with the usual user of BTE hearing aids in mind.  

Oticon, for instance, makes the Sumo DM with plenty of power to amplify sound for those with greater hearing loss.  With the increased ability to amplify comes the possibility of voices that don't sound weak or distorted.  Its design also conserves battery life, and even when the batteries do start to run down, the Sumo DM's performance doesn't suffer.  This is a good practical choice for the BTE hearing aid wearer with significant hearing loss.  

For a high-tech solution, try the Widex Senso BTE hearing aids.  These have all the fancy features.  They are fully digital.  They process sound at an extremely fast rate, which is not true for all digital models.  They process it in three bands.  They analyze the signal, regulate it within each frequency, process the signal and send it through to the speakers.  

These BTE hearing aids separate speech from noise and put the emphasis on the speech sounds.  Also, they have a great system for eliminating recruitment.  This is a phenomenon in people with hearing loss where at first they can't hear you at all, and then you speak just a little louder and suddenly they feel as if you're shouting at them.  

These BTE hearing aids are also programmed to deal with feedback.  They come with directional microphones on each hearing aid.  They reduce the noises that are more constant in your environment, like the hum of a refrigerator.  And, these BTE hearing aids are also available in special models that have more power for the people with more profound hearing loss.  

One type of BTE hearing aid that is made by several manufacturers is the open ear BTE aid.  These are very lightweight and comfortable.  The ear mold often comes in designer colors.  The aids are equipped with extremely thin tubing for their ear hooks.  The actual aid compartment itself that sits behind the ear may be so small and light that it's barely noticeable.  For example, the Siemens Prisma BTE hearing aids weigh only two grams, but still have two microphones and a couple of memories that you can switch by pushing a button.  The Starkey Aries BTE hearing aids are also extremely small.  

The open ear hearing aids have the added bonus of not blocking your ears.  Many people are very uncomfortable having their ears shut off the way they are with most hearing aids.  With the open ear hearing aid the ear has room to breathe, so to speak.  Many also come with nanocoating.  This is a covering substance that repels foreign matter such as sweat, dirt, and water.  

Each kind of hearing aid is advantageous for someone.  If you decide that BTE hearing aids are your best decision, explore the options carefully.  There are many choices available within that category.  

The Benefits of Starkey Hearing Aids

Hearing aids have become so much more technologically advanced that they even include devices which allow the users to listen to IPODS!  In-line telephone amplifiers can be carried on trips to help with hotel phone use.  There are devices the hearing impaired can take to movie theaters to help them hear the movie while blocking out the unnecessary background noises.

One of the popular companies that seem to be on top with their innovating products that carry users into the future is Starkey.  They have aids that will appeal to children as well as adults.  If your child is embarrassed at the thought of having to learn to use a hearing aid, their feelings should be respected.  Starkey can help ease the situation.  They've taken the care and the time to help equip children around the world.

It may help to have the child first try the hearing device at home for a short while before having them use it at school.  They must become accustomed to the feel of the aid and may need help feeling less self-conscious about using an aid.  They'll have to be taught the proper care, handling, storage, and not to share the aid with other curious children.  Try finding other children who also wear a hearing aid who may be willing to communicate with your child.  Children's care facilities, children's hospitals, other adults who wear hearing aids... all have potential for a support system for your child.  

The Starkey Hearing Foundation has provided over 20,000 aids to people who needed help acquiring them.  It's located in Minnesota, but reaches far beyond with its assistance.  Starkey has a program called StarKids, which is a help to parents and children as they learn about hearing aids.  You may need the hearing aid yourself and will want to help your child understand your device better.

Starkey Laboratories used to be a small ear mold company until William F. Austin took an interest in it.  He merged it with his own company, which repaired hearing devices.  Now there are Starkey facilities in more than 24 countries, with subsidiary companies in California and Minnesota. You may have heard of Audibel, Micro-Tech, and Nu-Ear.

Starkey has aids with helpful features that include a diagnostic tool that provides a performance report of the hearing aid.  It will actually remind you when it's time for your follow-up visit!  If you're interested in this particular aid, it's called the Destiny 1600 and runs around $2400.  Keep in mind that the best hearing aid features will cost more.  If you just want the basics, Starkey has those as well.

For models like the Davinci PSP line, the cost can be as much as $2200.  The Sierra line sells for $1700.  Starkey's Axent line sells for $2100.  The Aspect Xtra sells for $2100.  There are lower cost Starkey products, such as the Starkey A13 MPT-1 and the Starkey A13 Sequel MMP BTE-1.  Aids along this line can run anywhere from $570 to $1400.

A few of the famous people who have been associated with the Starkey name are Ronald Reagan, Elton John, and Jay Leno.

The Importance of Getting the Best Hearing Aid

Do you remember when you were young and you connected two big paper or plastic cups to a length of string, letting your friend hold one while you held the other?  This hearing experiment was well-known by many generations, often as an attempt to pretend to use a telephone.  Well, it also was one of the inspirations for one of the early types of hearing aids. The hearing device was called an ear trumpet, helpful but certainly not the best hearing aid. The development of hearing aids has come a long way since then!

A medical term for hearing loss is 'otosclerosis'.  Hearing is defined as the process of perceiving sounds.

Having the best hearing aid can help you get past the attitude barriers of others who don't seem to understand your challenges.  It opens the door for better, more accurate communication.  It's no fun to be made fun of because your hearing aid or your hearing impairment won't allow you to properly interpret the words directed to you or around you.  It can be especially devastating to a child.  The physical handicap is far from being the only challenge to overcome.  A hearing aid can help give a hearing-challenged child courage and ease their stress levels tremendously.

Although sign language and lip reading are important and helpful to many people with hearing loss, not every hearing impaired person has learned these tools and these tools aren't always the best for every situation.  

When you realize the need for a hearing aid, there are several things to consider.  The amount of loss suffered, whether you have loss in both ears or just one and how much in each ear, the fit to your unique ear shape, the cost, the service fees for the equipment, batteries and their availability, location of a hearing aid provider, your lifestyle, and the testing to determine your needs.  If you're a parent, you'll want more than just a test by the school nurse to determine the extent of hearing loss and the proper needs for your child.  There are more choices available for children and more attractive aids created just for their interests.  Purchasing the best aid now may make a difference in how their hearing loss progresses.

Some of the top hearing companies in the market are Starkey, Siemens, Beltone, Phonak, Rexton, Sonic Inovations, Unitron, Widex, and Sebotek.  Just about everyone has heard about the popular Miracle Ear!  You can find ads in magazines geared towards the interests of the elderly, check the flyers in the doctor's offices, and ask around.  You might be surprised who wears a hearing aid these days!  Although the elderly are the first in thought when hearing aids come to mind, anyone at any age can develop a need for a hearing aid.  Just asking someone to give you an example of their experience can lead you to your choice of the best hearing aid for you.

The best hearing aids will come with a few extras, like a good warranty, extra batteries, the storage case, instructions, important numbers to call for service centers, and the ear wax cleaning tool.

The Importance of Hearing Aids

Hearing loss occurs for many reasons, sometimes because of an accident or an illness, medication, or maybe from birth.  Some people lose their hearing because of the exposure to constant, loud noises that pierce the eardrums.  Hearing loss is a frustrating physical challenge, but there is hope for recovery in many cases through surgery, the use of a hearing aid, or a combination of both.  Complete recovery may not always be possible, which is why hearing aids are so important in our society.

Children have been teased, misunderstood, abused, and shunned because of hearing deficiencies.  A parent who may wonder why their child ignores them on a regular basis or why that child may not learn as well as another should have their child tested for hearing loss.  Children's hearing aids have come a long way in recent years.  They no longer have to be unappealing, irritating, and a burden.

Hearing aids can help your children overcome classroom challenges.  The right hearing aid can make a world of difference in whether or not your child makes the decision to pay attention to the teacher.  When one can't hear properly, they sometimes just give up trying.  A child should not have to be faced with this when help is available.

Although many jokes have been told about hearing loss, it can be no laughing matter.  Sometimes the biggest challenge is not with society, but with that person's own family.  The family members have to be around the person on a more constant basis than anyone else and can become quite irritated with continually having to repeat themselves or arrange themselves so the person who is impaired can read their lips or interpret their hand signals.  Televisions or radios that are turned up loud for the hearing impaired can be a source of frustration for those in the family who are not.  Television was vastly improved by the addition of closed-captioning.  Most dvd movies now include the closed captioning feature so that the hearing challenged can watch a movie with the family and not create an uncomfortable situation for the other members.

When a person needs a hearing aid, it can create embarrassing situations, such as when they misunderstand something another person says and they laugh inappropriately.  This person will not be able to understand whispering, so communicating in a crowd must be handled with care. There are insensitive people who make fun of this person, knowing he or she can't hear properly. It can wear on a person's self esteem and create depression when one cannot hear properly and constantly has to struggle to be understood and to understand.  Feeling like an outcast when you need help and can't seem to get it is a struggle.  Even though hearing aids don't solve all the problems of a hearing loss, they can greatly enrich the life of the person who needs the help and those who communicate with this person.

Talking on a telephone used to be more of a struggle for people who wear hearing aids.  Now aids have been created that are specially equipped with features for phone transmissions, including cell phone use.  

What Does Siemens Have to Offer?

Siemens, sometimes misspelled as Seimens, is in the business of hearing aids.  Having been in the business for more than 100 years (since 1847), it is an unusual name and has most likely suffered through just as many years of spelling mishaps!  But while the spelling may confuse you, their hearing aids should not.  They have representatives specially trained to help you determine what is best for your needs.  

The Siemens company understands how hearing loss can occur due to medication, ear infections gone out of control, head injuries, childhood diseases, and birth defects.  Loud noises are often taken lightly and grossly miscalculated risks are taken which wear on a person's ability to hear properly until one day, they realize it's time for a hearing aid.  Siemens knows the importance of getting evaluated for the proper aid and proper fit, and also the importance of taking care of the needs of children with hearing problems.

Children benefit from Siemens BTE aids because they are more durable.  Anyone who has an active child knows how important it is that anything the child must use has to stand up to the rugged lifestyles.  Your child shouldn't be missing out on their chance to enjoy life simply because of limitations imposed by hearing aids that won't meet their needs properly.

Are you a frequent traveler?  Ask your Siemens (also known in error as Seimens) representative about locations you can stop by for service to your hearing aid.  Make a note of the locations for future reference and keep it with your important paperwork.  They're very widespread, operating in Africa, America, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and Europe.

Is your hearing loss conductive?  If so, you'll need an aid that has the primary function of sending sound through the middle or outer ear.  Your hearing should be restored simply by amplified aids, so the analog aids should work well for you.  If your hearing loss is associated with aging or has other causes, restoring your hearing could be a bit more complicated.  But whatever the type of hearing loss, Siemens (not Seimens) is sure to have the right hearing aid to improve your life.

Siemens offers value Digital, Basic Digital, and Ultimate Digital choices.  Their aids offer AutoPhone features, which is a huge step for hearing aid users who know how inconvenient it can be to try to use a telephone with a hearing aid of the past.  The Siemen product families include Triano, Prisma 2, Music Pro, Phoenix Pro.  Just the Prisma 2 basic BTE model can run from $1700 and up.

Siemens (Seimens) participates at Trade shows and educational symposiums.  They can provide you with an event calendar, support program, website service, and marketing services.  Whether you wish to buy a hearing aid, sell one, or just have a program at your school or business about hearing aids and hearing loss, this is a company that should be able to help you out.  Some of their charity project partners include the Pangea Foundation, the Line of Safety civic association, and the Children to Children project.  

What to Look for in Inexpensive Hearing Aids

With hearing aids costing thousands of dollars each in some cases, it's easy to become discouraged.  It's easy to give up and say to yourself that you'll just have to learn to live with not being able to hear.  Maybe you can learn to lip read, you think.  But, what if you can find hearing aids that you can afford?  Maybe you can.  You just need to know what to look for in inexpensive hearing aids.  

There are some devices that send the sound to your ear with very little processing except a bit of amplification.  Some of these are not even sold as hearing aids, but are sold to hunters who want to be able to hear wildlife noises very well.  These are rightfully called listening devices.  They do not meet FDA guidelines that describe what constitutes a hearing aid.  At prices usually under $20 each, they claim to be inexpensive hearing aids, but they are not considered by most to be hearing aids at all.  

Watch out for companies that insist on you signing a waiver of medical care before they will send you your hearing aids.  These companies do not expect to go through a hearing professional.  If that's what you want, then so be it.  Just make sure you are aware of the consequences of this decision.  If you have a medical condition that is causing your hearing loss, it might be serious and it might be better if you had it checked out.  But, that is your call.  Maybe this is the way you want to go about getting inexpensive hearing aids.  

Your best bet is to look for deals on well-known brands and models of hearing aids.  These can be found at better prices than the manufacturer offers, if you look on the internet.  Just make sure you are comparing the exact same brand names and models of hearing aids to the same inexpensive hearing aids you have found.  Also, make sure that they are new and have a warranty.  Find out about trial periods and return policies.  If you go through your ENT doctor, you will find that you will be given a rather long trial period.  At any time during this period, you can bring the hearing aids back for a full refund minus a very small restocking fee.  The same policy does not go for all sellers, especially internet sellers.  

Another thing to look for is how the inexpensive hearing aids are fitted, both in physical conformity to your ear canal and in volume, frequency, and sound memories.  Some inexpensive hearing aids are BTE hearing aids that come with a universal ear mold to start you off.  They also come with the capability of providing a custom fitted ear mold by taking the aid to your audiologist.  

Some inexpensive hearing aids are designed for you to do the programming of the hearing aid yourself with the help of computer software.  You have to decide if you are up to that challenge if you choose a package like this.  

Some of these inexpensive hearing aids can be fitted through an ENT doctor and some are done without any doctor.  Whatever you choose to do about your hearing problems, look for reliable yet inexpensive hearing aids for the solution.  

What You Need to Know About to Compare Hearing Aids

You have just realized you have hearing loss.  Or, you have recently gained the ability to do something about it.  Now you have to sort through all the different styles, models, and manufacturers to find the right ones for you.  You can no doubt get some help from your audiologist, but if you want to be an informed consumer, you will want to learn to compare hearing aids for yourself.  

When you do compare hearing aids, the first question is whether you want to get analog or digital hearing aids.  Analog are the least expensive by far.  These hearing aids simply receive a signal from a microphone, amplify it, and send the louder sound on to the ear.  It's as simple as that.

There is a middle ground between analog and digital.  These are sometimes called digital programmable, although they are not 100 percent digital, or they are called analog programmable.  The idea here is that it is indeed an analog hearing aid.  It just has the advantage of a certain amount of customization in programming through the use of computer software.  This can give you a variety of settings you can manually switch to accommodate your listening preferences in different listening situations.  The settings can be changed by reprogramming at any time.  When you compare hearing aids,these are more expensive than the regular analog ones, but less so than fully digital ones.   

Fully digital hearing aids are the most expensive, and when you compare hearing aids you will find many reasons why this is so.  The difference in sound quality is like the difference you get when you go to digital music recordings from old fashioned record albums.  This is done through DSP, or digital signal processing.  

There are differences in the programming as well. One thing to notice when you compare hearing aids is how many channels or bands it has.  This is important because if your hearing loss is not the same for all frequencies, you will want different frequencies adjusted differently.  Some people may only need a couple of bands while others may need several.  

It is also nice to know if a hearing aid has directional microphones.  If it does, there are two microphones that emphasize sounds in front of you rather than behind you.  Some models have a switch so that you can turn this feature on and off.  

Another way to compare hearing aids is by taking into account how many preset programs there are to switch between.  You might want different programs for different aspects of your life, like home and work environments, and the surroundings at your favorite free time activities.  

Compare hearing aids by noting which ones are "smart" hearing aids.  These have the capability to learn your preferences by the way you use them when you get them.  These are easy to operate because, after awhile, the hearing aid automatically sets itself the way you usually set it yourself.  Other features are reduced feedback and wind noise, and the ability to use the device with phones or even mobile phones.   

In the end, you will probably talk it over with your audiologist before you make your final decision.  It's nice to go in to that talk armed with some facts of your own.  That is why it's in your best interest to compare hearing aids yourself.