Frequently Asked Questions About Hearing Loss, Hearing Aids, & More

Below are the questions patients ask us most, answered plainly. If yours is not here, call the office and ask. We would rather answer it on the phone than have you guess. Audiology Associates of Westchester sees patients at our Harrison and Somers, NY offices, and from across Westchester County and Greenwich, CT.

What are the signs of hearing loss?

Speech sounds muffled. You follow words less well in a crowd or against background noise. Consonants go missing, so you hear that someone is talking but not what they said. You ask people to slow down or repeat themselves. The television goes up past what everyone else wants. You start withdrawing from conversations and skipping the places where conversation is hard. Hearing loss usually arrives slowly, which is why the people around you often notice before you do.

Is it hearing loss, or is it just earwax?

Both are common and they feel similar from the inside. A blocked canal makes sound quiet and the ear feel full, and it clears once the wax is out. Inner-ear loss makes sound unclear rather than quiet, and it does not clear on its own. An ear examination and a hearing test tell the two apart in one appointment, which is why we look in the ear before we test.

What happens at a hearing test?

The audiologist asks about what you are noticing and where, then looks inside both ears. Audiometric testing measures the softest tones you can hear across the pitch range. Speech testing measures how well you understand words. Tympanometry checks the eardrum and middle ear by changing the pressure in the canal, and otoacoustic emission testing gives a picture of the health of the hair cells. Afterwards we go through the audiogram with you and explain what it means before anyone talks about devices.

Who treats hearing loss?

An audiologist holds a master's or doctoral degree in audiology and can test for and treat hearing loss. A hearing instrument specialist supplies and fits hearing aids. An otolaryngologist, usually called an ENT, is a physician who diagnoses conditions of the ear, nose, throat, head, and neck. If what you have is a medical ear problem rather than a hearing problem, we refer you to an ENT.

How does a hearing aid work?

A microphone picks up sound and converts it to an electrical signal. The processor shapes that signal to match your hearing loss, and a small speaker delivers it into the ear canal. A hearing aid does not repair the ear. It makes the sound your ear still has more usable.

Will a hearing aid make my hearing normal again?

No. Damage to the hair cells of the inner ear does not reverse, and no device undoes it. What a well-fit hearing aid does is give the brain access to speech sounds it has been missing, particularly the high consonants such as s, f, th, and sh. Expect conversation to get clearer. Do not expect new ears, and do not expect a loud restaurant to be solved on the first day.

Why do I need two hearing aids?

You have two ears, and the brain compares what arrives at each one to work out where a sound came from. Wearing a single aid takes that comparison away, which makes locating sound harder and makes a noisy room harder still. Where both ears have loss, we fit both.

What styles of hearing aids are there?

Broadly, devices that sit behind the ear with a receiver or tube running into the canal, and devices built to sit inside the ear. Phonak Lyric is the outlier: it sits deep in the ear canal and stays in for months at a time. Which style suits you depends on your hearing loss, the shape of your ear, how your hands work, and what you need the device to do.

How long does it take to get used to hearing aids?

Usually a few weeks to a few months, and longer the more hearing you have lost. Wear them as much as you can rather than saving them for the hard situations. Keep a note of the moments you did not hear well and bring it to the follow-up, because those moments are what the adjustments are made from.

Can I try hearing aids before I buy them?

Yes. Every hearing aid we fit comes with a trial period. You take the devices home and wear them in your own life before you commit, and we go through the length of the trial and the return terms in writing first. The follow-up visits inside the trial are covered by the fitting fee.

Which brands do you fit?

Every major manufacturer, including Oticon, Phonak, Signia, ReSound, Widex, and Starkey. Fitting all of them means what we recommend is not limited by what we happen to stock. If a different brand suits your hearing and your hands better, that is the one we fit.

What is real-ear measurement, and why does it matter?

It is a probe microphone placed in your ear canal while the hearing aids are running, so we can see what the device is actually delivering at your eardrum instead of what the fitting software predicts. Ear canals differ, and manufacturer first-fit settings routinely fall short of prescriptive targets. A verified mid-tier hearing aid beats an unverified premium one. We measure at every fitting.

Can I buy hearing aids online instead?

You can, and they will arrive unprogrammed. Most of the work in a hearing aid is in the fitting: matching the output to your hearing loss, verifying it in your ear, and adjusting it once you have lived with it. A device bought online has had none of that done for your ears.

Does insurance cover hearing aids?

Coverage varies by plan, and the only reliable answer comes from your own insurer, so call them first. Medicaid sometimes covers the diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss, and some children's coverage falls under SCHIP. If your plan does not help and you do not have Medicaid or Medicare, call us.

What do hearing aids cost?

The cost depends on the level of technology and the features you need, so we quote after the evaluation rather than before it. When you compare providers, ask each of them what the price includes: the fitting, the verification, the follow-up visits, the trial period, the warranty, and what a future repair costs.

How do I look after my hearing aids?

Keep them away from heat, moisture, and hair products, and follow the cleaning instructions you were given. Turn them off when they are not in use, and replace batteries as soon as they run down. Keep spare batteries somewhere children and pets cannot reach them. Bring the aids in for a clean and check rather than waiting for them to stop working.

My hearing aid whistles, or my ear feels sore. Is that normal?

No, and do not keep pushing the device in. Whistling, soreness, or an aid that works its way loose usually means the dome, the receiver length, the mold, or the wax filter needs attention. Book a fitting appointment. This is not something to live with.

What should I do about ringing in my ears?

Tinnitus is a symptom rather than a diagnosis. It can come from earwax, from hearing loss, from noise exposure, or from a medication, and the first job is to find out which. Several of our audiologists are Certificate Holders of Tinnitus Management, and NYHD I TinnitusCare has been seeing tinnitus patients at our Harrison office since February 2024. Tinnitus in one ear only, tinnitus that pulses with your heartbeat, or a sudden drop in hearing should be seen promptly.