Today, consumers can turn to the Internet to buy everything from art work to zoology books. But it wasn’t until recently that they could buy hearing aids, and this is a change that Ron Kittner, owner of Miracle-Ear® of North Cape May, believes compromises consumer hearing health.
“Hearing aids are not fashion accessories or ‘consumer electronic devices’,” said Kittner. “Hearing aids are medical devices, and require professional evaluation, fit and adjustments to deliver the life-changing benefits they offer.”
The International Hearing Society (IHS) is a membership association that represents hearing healthcare professionals worldwide.
As a corporate sponsor of IHS, Miracle-Ear® supports the organization’s ground-breaking efforts to ban what it considers to be illegal Internet and over-the-counter sales of hearing aids — also being marketed and sold as Personal Sound Amplifiers (PSAPs).
Because hearing loss can be related to an underlying medical disorder, by law the hearing loss sufferer must be evaluated by a physician or another licensed hearing professional in the six-month period prior to purchasing a hearing aid to confirm that all medically treatable conditions have been identified and addressed. In many states, hearing aid sales are also governed by licensing laws.
Adults do have the right to waive these protections based on religious or personal objections, and this has opened the door to internet and over-the-counter marketers offering cut-rate products based on online, phone-based or written “hearing tests.”
But Kittner warns that an effective hearing loss screening requires a visual examination of the ear along with a comprehensive hearing evaluation by a properly licensed specialist.
Without professional evaluation, consumers run the risk of not knowing or understanding the pathology behind their hearing loss, thereby missing the opportunity to treat the loss effectively and appropriately.
Consumers who buy hearing aids from qualified hearing specialists also benefit from ongoing patient counseling, fitting and adjustments — all of which are essential to maximizing the wearer’s success with the device and adjusting to life with hearing loss.
This comprehensive, personal approach to hearing loss care is invaluable to the consumer’s hearing health.
“While hearing aids are similar in design and intent, and the initial cost of a hearing aid purchased online may be very attractive, the key to success in wearing and benefiting from the device is in the follow-up counseling, support and fittings offered by certified hearing specialists,” said Kittner.
“Devices that arrive in the mail will most likely end up in a drawer — unused. And, more importantly, the individual who ordered that device online will continue to suffer unnecessarily from untreated hearing loss.”
For more information on how hearing aids can help you, contact Ron Kittner at Miracle-Ear of North Cape May at 609-889-2900.
Wildwood – So Liberals here on spout off, here's a REAL question for you.
Do you think it's appropriate for BLM to call for "Burning down the city" and "Black Vigilantes" because…
