If you or a loved one are thinking about optimizing your hearing in 2025, where do you start?
You’re here, which is a good sign— you’ve found us to help guide you through the options available to you in the new year, especially when different websites offer different price points and the same promises.
By 2050, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that 2.5 billion people will have some degree of hearing loss. If you’d like to address your hearing loss 25 years earlier than that statistic, you’re in the right place.
Here are the most up-to-date methods for treating your hearing loss as of 2025.
Hearing Care vs. Assistive Hearing Devices
Many individuals believe that hearing aids are the one solution to hearing loss, but the reality is that great technology is just one step on your hearing health journey.
Hearing care with guidance from a team of hearing health professionals is what makes the biggest difference. Your hearing health is a journey, not a destination; hearing aids and other hearing assistive technology help enhance your hearing, but the heavy lifting is done by you as you adapt to wearing them, and your team of hearing experts supporting you along every step of the way.
Ask someone you know with hearing aids— or chat to one of our fellow patients when you come in to see us. They’ll tell you the same thing: hearing aids help, but the relationship with their hearing care provider is what makes the biggest difference in helping them achieve better hearing outcomes.
Just like getting used to wearing glasses, assistive hearing devices take some time to get used to wearing them constantly. You’re effectively retraining your brain to hear sounds you were missing out on before— that’s some hard work! With the guidance of a hearing health professional at your side, your hearing health journey will be as smooth as possible.
Some assistive hearing devices do not come with advice from your friendly neighbourhood hearing expert; this approach can work for some, but not others. Depending on whether you’re looking for a hands-on approach to your hearing health, or you’d like to navigate your journey solo, there are a number of options available for your unique circumstances and requirements.
What Are the Different Options Available to Address a Hearing Challenge?
There are a few different options for addressing a hearing challenge, and many depend on whether you’re looking for professional assistance or to face down your hearing loss solo. Some of these options include:
1 - Personal Sound Amplification Products
A do-it-yourself solution comes in the form of Personal Sound Amplification Products, or PSAPs. PSAPs take in sound through a built-in microphone and make it louder in your ears, which proves to be a satisfactory amplifier of all sound.
We’d equivocate these to “readers” eyeglasses from drugstores: a quick and reasonably priced fix that works in some solutions, but not all. For individuals looking for a quick volume adjustment without the advice of a professional to back it up, PSAPs can be a suitable option for mild to moderate hearing loss.
Some types of hearing loss involve different frequencies that you can’t hear as well; PSAPs amplify all noise, not just the ones you want to hear. Since PSAPs don’t require a test, and aren’t tailored to your specific hearing loss, they can work for very specific contexts, but not all.
2 - Big Box Retail Stores (Costco)
Costco has been one of the biggest retailers of hearing aids for years. Their hearing aid dispensaries in-store feature a pure-tone hearing test, where you listen for certain beeps and respond accordingly, and they’ll fit you with Kirkland-branded hearing aids according to your hearing test results.
Costco hearing aids are affordable, quick, and can help for many forms of hearing loss. The caveat is that wait times for appointments can be long, due to their retail status, and if you need follow-up care or new programming for your devices, you could be waiting for weeks on end.
They’re a transactional option that views hearing aids as your solution to hearing loss; rather than focusing on what you as a person need, they’re looking out for whether your hearing loss can be “fixed” with hearing aids, no matter the specificities of your challenges.
We’d equivocate Costco hearing aids to Uber or Lyft: if you’re looking to get somewhere quick, regardless of the bumps in the road, they’re a good option to pick. However, for a smooth ride that focuses on your satisfaction and safety, the next option might be a better pick for your needs.
3 - Working with a Local Clinic
For any and all forms of hearing loss challenges, working with a local team of passionate experts in all things hearing care is your best possible option.
Your hearing care professional works with you, not for you, to address your hearing challenges and decide as a team what technology will work best for your needs.
Working with a local clinic is the best bet for those looking for a hands-on approach, guided by a team that has your best interests at heart as both a patient and a person. With professional hearing care, you’ll reap the benefits of ongoing support and care for many, many years to come.
To continue our car analogy from before, working with your local hearing care clinic is like getting a chauffeur to drive you. Your chauffeur will take care to avoid the bumps he can, and provide a smooth and enjoyable driving experience for your needs— just like your expert hearing care team will.
4 - Cochlear Implants
Of course, there are some hearing challenges for which hearing aids alone aren’t enough. Cochlear implants are surgically implanted devices that help provide clarity for individuals with severe to profound hearing loss looking to optimize their hearing capabilities.
These are implanted by a doctor, but if you’re curious about cochlear implants, we’d be happy to chat with you and refer you to a cochlear implant specialist.
Start Your Hearing Health Journey Today
No matter which option will be best for your needs, we’re here to guide you to the one that will help you get back to hearing the life you love.
Request a callback and we’ll get in touch as soon as we can to answer questions or address your concerns. Alternatively, you can call us at 705-324-5402 (ext 2) for a more immediate conversation.
