Swift Audiology Helps Navigate the Options of Hearing Aids

25 years as your trusted hearing health care provider

With more than 25 years of expertise when it comes to hearing improvement, Swift Audiology's Debra Swift admits that the world of hearing aids can be an enormously, confusing sea of choices for those with hearing impairment.

However, that same expertise allows her to help her clients cut through the confusion to obtain a personalized solution that's convenient, calibrated, customized and affordable.

"A lot of people think that buying a hearing aid is like buying a computer," she said. "But once they have that computer, can they program it for future improvements to accommodate changes in their hearing? Can they maintain it and keep it functioning like the day it was new? We counsel our patients right off the bat about their hearing aids, how to develop good practices in order to maintain them at home, as well as providing free in-office service, cleanings and replacement of parts as needed."

Hearing is a brain function. The ears are the pathway, and that pathway becomes damaged due to noise, aging, illnesses, ototoxic medications, or even hereditary factors. Almost 95 percent of hearing loss is sensorineural (nerve loss), and hearing aids are needed to make up for the damaged hair cells (nerve). Hearing aids get the missing information to the brain so the brain can cognitively process speech and the sounds of the world that keep us acclimated and in communication with people. This is called aural rehabilitation, and it is a process that takes time.

Studies posted in the Archives of Neurology have linked hearing loss to Alzheimer's/dementia. For every 10 percent of hearing loss that goes untreated over a prolonged period of time, the risk for developing dementia is increased by 20 percent.

We have certainly seen the relationship between hearing loss and dementia for years in our practice.

How can we remember what we don't hear or understand clearly? The brain slows cognitively, and it takes extra effort to understand conversations, which is not only tiring, but also frustrating, embarrassing and impacts the person's self-confidence and sense of wellbeing, according to a National Council on Aging study. This study has shown that untreated hearing loss can lead to isolation and depression as well. Wearing hearing aids daily, reverses these effects and maintains cognitive processing.

"We set realistic expectations in our counseling when we're fitting a patient. They know what to expect. They know the brain will adjust. In the first month, they come in for several visits during this acclimation period," Swift said. "People with hearing aids, when set properly, have benefit, but it's not overwhelming. Adjustments are made at future visits to provide normal hearing as the patient acclimates."

With Swift's maintenance and counseling plan, which includes lifetime cleanings and free batteries every four months during free walk-in clinics, patients cannot only hear again at optimal levels, they also can go about their lives not worrying that their investments in their hearing will be wasted.

"Not having the extended services that we offer is one of the reasons why so many hearing aids end up in the drawer after a time period," Swift said. "A good provider will set you up on a program to cover all of these things on an ongoing basis. Then you have value and benefit for the cost. Is it better to buy a hearing aid for $1,000 that ends up in a drawer, with no service, or to pay a little more with bundled services, batteries and warranties that provide everything you need for the life of the aids to hear well and extends the life of the aids? If a patient needs that price range, we have hearing aids for under $1000 that include lifetime bundled services, in that price range, by top of the line manufacturer's. We explain the differences, and you make an educated choice. There are many options, and you're never stuck with your choice if it isn't satisfactory."

Swift Audiology has helped patients continue to hear well for over 25 years. Free trials, 45 day no-risk returns and 90 days to trade to another type or technology, make Swift Audiology stand out. Experience does matter when choosing a professional. Choose a local practice that you can trust to help you find your most beneficial hearing aids.

Call Swift Audiology today at 724-222-9010 or 724-942-4700 for a no-cost, no-obligation hearing screening and demonstration.

There is no replacement for a physician when it comes to health care, just as there is no replacement for a hearing health-care professional when it comes to better hearing.

Swift Audiology is aware of the competition and the variety of avenues that the public can now purchase hearing aids. Some insurance companies are selling their packages as though they are providing a hearing aid benefit, when, in fact, it is a discount plan.