Last updated on March 12, 2020
Many people in this country are hearing impaired. They have to choose between getting hearing aids or getting cochlear implants. This is a big decision which often leaves people feeling overwhelmed. I am also hearing impaired and I wish to share my knowledge with my brethren to help ease the decision. Below I have made lists of the pros and cons of hearing aids and cochlear implants. I hope it helps. Hearing hero is the promising device that can take you out of your woes to a large extent.
Hearing aids are devices which go inside of your ear and transmit sound to the brain. They are available to most hearing impaired people and are the most common hearing helping unit. They are good because they do not require surgery. They leave the ear intact. They come in many different types because different hearing aids are required for different levels of hearing loss. They are also convenient, they can be carried in a pocket, a purse, or a small handbag. But not everything about hearing aids is good. They have a dark side.
Hearing aids have many disadvantages. They cannot get wet. Getting wet will short them out so you have to wander around water parks deaf or take shower and not be able to hear the phone ring. Hearing aids tend to whistle shrilly when things get too close to them. This can cause major discomfort in the ear. Hearing aids also require that you buy batteries for them and this can make your wallet, or your purse, hurt. You have to constantly clean the molds on hearing aids so that their effectiveness is not disrupted. Hearing aids also tend to make your ears stick out over time.
Cochlear implants are surgically implanted devices that transmit sounds to the brain. They are more effective than hearing aids because unlike hearing aids, cochlear implants restore your hearing to perfect condition. Hearing aids are only partly effective. You do not have to clean cochlear implants as they are on the inside of your head. There is a little piece that goes on the outside, but you don’t have to clean it because it does not go in your ear.
Cochlear implants do have many negative aspects. Not everyone qualifies to get cochlear implants and even if you do qualify, the surgical process of installing them destroys the cochlea which makes it impossible for future treatments to work. Like hearing aids, you have to buy batteries for the piece of the implant that goes on the outside of your head and you have to remove that piece so as not to get it wet. The biggest disadvantage of cochlear implants is that they do not restore your hearing to exactly the way it was. Every sound you ever heard, every song you ever sang, even your own voice, will change. Evertyhing you hear will sound different. Some people can live with that. Others can’t.
