Celebrate World Hearing Day
It’s an Exciting Time for Hearing Health!
It's time to celebrate all things hearing! World Hearing Day (March 3) is here, and these days it’s easier than ever to take care of your hearing health. With major technological advancements in the audiology industry over the last several years, and recent industry focus on accessibility, affordability, and convenient testing options, there’s never been a better time to ensure you’re hearing all the sounds that life has to offer. This is exciting news for millions of Americans struggling with hearing loss!
Over-The-Counter Hearing Aids Increase Accessibility and Affordability
While experts do recommend getting a hearing test if you suspect you have any level of hearing loss (it’s the best way to ensure you purchase the perfect devices for you), you can get hearing aids now without a hearing exam or a prescription due to an FDA ruling that opened up the market for over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aid purchases. OTC hearing aids are available for individuals with mild to moderate hearing loss, and they are a great lower cost, easily accessible option. Lucid Hearing's OTC hearing aids are available through various major retailers across the country like Sam's Club, Best Buy, Kinney Drug, Health Mart, Boscov’s and other similar retailers. They’re also available online through Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, CVS, Crutchfield, Walgreens, the Home Shopping Network, QVC, and later this spring in the Army & Airforce Exchange Services (AAFES), select Kroger stores, and on Target.com. The full line of products can also be purchased on Lucid Hearing’s website.
Lucid Hearing’s OTC products are state-of-the-art and a majority are app-controlled through your iPhone or Android device, so you can customize your hearing experience based on the environment you’re in at any given time. Using Powered by Lucid technology, these hearing aids offer exceptional clarity. They were designed with intelligence gained from years of research that allowed Lucid Hearing to create pre-set programs that meet the vast majority of consumers’ perceived mild to moderate hearing loss needs.
Hearing Tests - So Quick and Easy
To get an accurate read on your level of hearing loss, hearing specialists recommend getting a hearing test. Lucid Hearing offers free online hearing assessments and in-store testing at more than 500 hearing centers nationwide, making it easy to take control of your hearing health. The test itself is quick (usually an hour or less), easy, and painless, and for severe to profound hearing loss, Lucid Hearing's licensed hearing professionals will provide a prescription tailored to your specific needs. It’s easy to schedule a hearing exam at a location near you. Regardless of whether you’re a good fit for OTC hearing aids or your level of loss requires prescription devices, Lucid Hearing’s on-site hearing specialists can provide your results and fit you with the right hearing aids on the spot!
The Importance of Prevention
As a provider of whole hearing health, Lucid Hearing also offers hearing protection. If you enjoy recreational activities or work in an environment where you’re surrounded by high noise levels, it’s critical to protect your hearing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), listening to loud noise for extended periods can overwork hair cells in the ear, which can cause these cells to die. The hearing loss progresses as long as the exposure continues. Harmful effects might continue even after noise exposure has stopped. If your hearing is great now, do everything possible to protect it. According to BetterHearing.org, studies reveal that untreated hearing loss has many consequences including social isolation, reduced alertness and increased risk to personal safety, fatigue and depression. The Alzheimer’s Society even reports a link between hearing loss and dementia.
Getting Help Sooner Than Later
Unfortunately, the Hearing Loss Association of America reports that people with hearing loss wait an average of 7 years before seeking help. And even more unfortunate, once you begin to experience hearing loss, that loss is never recovered. Going too long without getting treatment can also mean loss of speech understanding. Jennifer Stoltz, Lucid Hearing’s Territory Vice President and a hearing aid wearer herself, explains, “What people may not realize is that the longer they let their hearing loss go, without getting help, the worse their speech understanding gets, including their ability to understand speech even after we correct it with hearing aids,” Stoltz says. “So, if we do something sooner, they’re going to have an easier transition, a better experience [with hearing aids], and they’re going to be able to understand more even in noisy environments than if they were to wait.”
Take Your Cue from World Hearing Day!
World Hearing Day is the perfect time to check your hearing, especially if you think you have any level of hearing loss. Or, if you suspect a loved one has hearing loss, pay a visit to a Lucid hearing center where both of you can get tested, get results and secure an on-the-spot solution if needed.
Changed Lives Spotlight
Hearing the Music (Almost) for the First Time
Like many who have found a hearing solution with the help of quality hearing aids, Vince Casmirri appreciates the ability to pursue his music with a renewed passion. Vince credits Lucid Hearing with his newfound ability to hear the “lush orchestration” of his favorite piano concertos that he streams through his Lucid Hearing Custom BT hearing aids. The first time he tried them, “I very nearly cried,” he says, adding that he had forgotten all of the musical nuances he was missing with his previous set of hearing aids. Vince was diagnosed with hearing loss at the age of three, but still went on to receive a full education in piano performance. Music, and in particular, the piano, are his passions and so being able to hear the full breadth of the music when he practices and performs is magical to him. The same holds true for being able to clearly hear the everyday sounds around him, especially conversations. “I’d grown accustomed to maximizing the volume on my old hearing aids (different brand), both when streaming and during regular conversation,” he says. “The best example was during my family’s big Thanksgiving dinner. Despite the many side conversations cropping up all around the house, I never had to strain to hear the people next to me. I just used the Lucid app to switch to a more appropriate program for the occasion (“noisy”), and I could comfortably participate in the dinner table chat.” Join Vince and Lucid Hearing in celebrating World Hearing Day (March 3) – a day to appreciate all the sounds life offers and a day to spread awareness about the importance of hearing health.