With age related hearing loss it is difficult to admit that your body is not as it once was. Nobody wants to wear hearing aids, what people want to do is hear well. Sometimes, just like your eyes you need some extra help. If you're avoid socialising with friends and family because of your hearing, then there's a good chance that they may also be avoiding you, as it can be just as tiresome for them to repeat themselves as it is for you to ask them to repeat themselves. If you need hearing aids and avoid them because of the fear of people knowing you have a hearing loss; then the only person you will be kidding about you hearing will be yourself. Hearing is precious, words and sounds have power, and if misinterpreted can be dangerous and also cause unnecessary mistakes that can cause relationship problems with friends, family and loved ones. Unfortunately, ignoring your hearing loss will not make it go away and if anything it may become worse over time. This day and age, there is no reason not to take action with discreet hearing aid designs and the amazing up-to-date technology and sound quality. It may be time for you to take control of your hearing. After all our hearing is what connects us with the world and the people around us and allowing you to hear a family member, or loved one's friendly voice.

FAQs Archive - Beckenham Hearing

Q: How do I know if I have a hearing loss?

A common symptom of hearing loss is that people sound unclear and often sound as if they are mumbling. Its common that someone with hearing loss has experienced the embarrassment of asking people to repeat themselves multiple times. Another indication of hearing loss is a difficulty with focusing on conversations in a noisy environment e.g. Coffee shop, restaurant, busy road and in a car. Friends and family members may comment that you are speaking loudly, or that your television or radio is very loud. Keeping track of conversation may be difficult when somebody turns away from you mid-sentence, preventing the conversation from flowing and making it confusing.

Q: How can hearing loss effect me?

You may strain your eyes to lip read in the presence of background noise. You may avoid social situations in noisy environments e.g. coffee shops and restaurants, as it is tiresome to follow the conversation and you may disengage altogether. You may find it hard to follow a conversation with younger children as they have softer/higher voices and you might find yourself avoiding dialogue with them and give up trying to understand them altogether. You may get very tired towards the end of the day. This will be due to you working a lot harder to follow conversations than someone with normal hearing.

Q: What can cause hearing loss?

Ageing is the most common cause of hearing loss and is usually caused by damage to your inner ear hair cells within your cochlea, also known as your hearing nerve. This is caused by wear and tear over time and/or years of exposure to loud sounds e.g. machinery, loud music, shooting, motor sport etc. Sometimes it may only be a build up of earwax blocking sound from entering the ear correctly.

Q: When should I consider using hearing aids?

If you feel like friends or family members are mumbling. If you start to avoid social situations as holding a conversation becomes tiresome, then its time to be brave and take the first steps to improving your hearing health. If you find yourself making unrelated comments, because you have missed the conversation moving on to another subject.

Q: Are hearing aids expensive?

Our hearing aids start at £2500 a pair and go up to £4500. We offer the most technically advanced hearing aids from the best six hearing aid brands available. This gives us a broad range of styles and hearing aids to cater for most requirements. We will make a recommendation based on your comprehensive hearing test results and lifestyle needs.

Q: What if I don't get on with hearing aids?

At Beckenham Hearing we provide you with 75 days to try your devices. So if you do not get on with the hearing aids you can return them without any pressure. After all we wouldn't want anyone using hearing aids they are unhappy with them, as we value our reputation and pride ourselves on taking the time to get the best outcome possible from your chosen devices.