Hearing aids are electronic assistive hearing devices. They contain technically advanced electronics which help to amplify and process sounds. The best modern hearing aids are unobtrusive, discrete and comfortable to wear.

If you are having difficulty hearing, the decision to purchase a hearing aid can make a noticeable improvement in your life. Our hearing aids will help you hear the world around you. After purchasing a hearing aid from Omni Hearing, you will likely notice a reduced need to ask the people you love to repeat themselves. Omni Hearing?s selection of quality hearing aids enhance your ability to communicate. They also make hearing (and understanding) inside noisy environments much less of a challenge and will reduce the need to ask others to repeat.

Omni Hearing?s quality line of hearing aids can improve your ability to hear in the following situations:

• While using a cell phone or traditional telephone
• Communicating at work
• Interacting with digital media
• Listening in large group settings
• Attending lectures
• Watching movies and television
• Conversing with other people
• Ordering food and wine in restaurants, as well as many, many other everyday situations!

Omni Hearing?s quality selection of hearing aids and hearing aid products can help to improve your ability to participate in group discussions. More effective hearing will also help to increase your cognitive skills, as well as your overall emotional, mental and physical health. Hearing aids help to facilitate better communication in your personal and work relationships. This helps to build self-confidence and an improved sense of independence. Improving your hearing level also provides added safety and awareness in everyday situations – like crossing the street and working with dangerous equipment. Many people who decide to purchase hearing aids immediately notice a marked improvement in their social life and overall level of happiness.

The process of selecting the best hearing aid for you begins with a comprehensive hearing test provided by one of our qualified hearing care professionals. After purchasing your hearing aids from Omni Hearing, you should also experience better overall energy levels. Living with hearing loss can be extremely stressful on your body – both physically and mentally.

When you?re not dedicating so much time and energy simply trying to hear, you?re able to use that energy for the things that matter most in life.??

A quality hearing aid from Omni Hearing will help to stimulate your auditory nerve. A lack of auditory nerve stimulation caused by pre-existing hearing loss can potentially lead to further impairment. Oftentimes, this creates many different types of hearing challenges ? especially with regards to speech discrimination or understanding. By providing increased stimulation to your auditory nerve, our hearing aids can help preserve your ability to understand speech. You will be amazed by how much these tiny devices can help improve your overall quality of life.

Common Hearing Aid Complaints

If you have already purchased a hearing aid or assistive hearing device from another hearing service provider and have been unsatisfied with the results – you are certainly not alone.

Not all hearing aids are created equal and not all hearing specialists care as much as Omni Hearing.

Below are some common complaints and experiences people have reported after being sold hearing aids that fail to meet the Omni Hearing standard:

• Discomfort in the ear
• Difficulty with usage
• Improper or loose fit
• Itching
• Loudness
• Rashes in the ear
• Soreness in the ear
• Whistling (feedback)

Many of the hearing aids available at Omni Hearing are hypoallergenic. Others can be modified to ensure a perfect, more comfortable fit. If a hearing aid is uncomfortable (or causes any of the side-effects listed above), you will be less inclined to use it regularly. This defeats the entire purpose of your investment. Come to Omni Hearing – we?ll help improve your overall hearing and fit you with hearing aids that work great and are comfortable to wear.

Problems With Volume

Properly adjusted, hearing aids are typically programmed to supplement a user?s natural hearing ability. However, when first using a hearing aid, sounds may initially seem too loud and uncomfortable ? this is very common. That being said, the problem should always go away over time.

If the volume of your hearing aid(s) remains uncomfortable over the long term, they should always be adjusted by a trained Omni Hearing professional.

Problems With Occlusion (echoing)

When first wearing a hearing aid, your own voice may sound a bit strange. This should normalize over time. It is important to remember that the ability to hear your own voice properly helps to improve overall speech regulation. A hearing aid should never make your voice echo.

Any perceived voice echoing or occlusion is a sign that you should have your hearing aid adjusted ? Omni Hearing can help!

Problems With Whistling And Feedback

We?ve all experienced the whistling noise that occurs when a microphone is placed too close to a speaker. This sharp, high-pitched tone is known as feedback (sound that is being re-amplified). Many people report experiencing feedback with their hearing aids, especially when opening and closing their mouths, standing close to someone else, or moving their head quickly from side-to-side.

Hearing aid feedback can impede the overall effectiveness of your hearing aids. Feedback experienced constantly is often the result of a damaged hearing aid or earmold, improper insertion, wax inside the ear canal or an improper acoustic seal.

Omni Hearing?s trained technicians can help you manage any feedback from your hearing aids. We are able to make slight adjustments to the software in your device to help minimize and overcome this common and distracting problem.

Contact us for more information about managing hearing aid feedback.

HEARING AID DIAGRAM

Internal / External Components and Descriptions

• Amplifier/Processor
• Battery
• Battery Door
• Earmolds
• Ear-Hook
• Microphone
• Program Button
• Speaker (receiver)
• Vents
• Volume control

Amplifiers and Processors

Analog hearing aids contain an amplifier. Digital hearing aids contain a processor. Analog amplifiers simply amplify the pre-existing sound waves. Digital processors perform this task as well, but they can also perform additional tasks simultaneously. Digital processors are able to automatically determine microphone directionality. They can also help to reduce perceived levels of background noise, offer Bluetooth compatibility, manage feedback, and provide an assortment of wireless features and options. Omni Hearing?s specialists are happy to provide information about the many different types of amplifiers and processors available in our wide selection of hearing aid models.

Batteries

Hearing aids and most other assistive hearing devices are powered by batteries. Hearing aid batteries are numbered and colour-coded according to their size and function. There are four typical sizes of hearing aid batteries. If you purchase extra batteries ahead of time, you should always keep in mind that these batteries have a shelf life of approximately three years. Batteries should always be stored in a cool, dry location. It is also important to remember that – once a hearing aid battery has been activated – it cannot be deactivated.

Omni Hearing is happy to offer assistance with hearing aid battery selection and replacement. We also suggest that anyone new to using hearing aids should work out a hearing aid battery replacement schedule well-ahead of time.

Omni Hearing has provided a template which contains the most commonly used hearing aid batteries and their unique specifications:

675 (blue)

13 (orange)

312 (brown)

10 (yellow)

Battery Doors

Replaceable hearing aid batteries are inserted and removed via the battery door. The battery door also acts as the hearing aid?s on/off switch. A fresh battery must be inserted into the battery door and the battery door must be closed in order to turn the hearing aid on. Opening the battery door turns the hearing aid off.

Hearing aid battery doors are designed specifically to accommodate positive and negative polarity. If the hearing aid battery has been inserted backwards (i.e. upside down) the battery door should not close.

Omni Hearing will always provide you with a thorough explanation about proper hearing aid battery insertion and replacement before you leave our store.

Program Button

The program button is an optional feature found on some styles of hearing aids. The program button allows the user to select different types of hearing aid program settings.

Some of the most common program features found on certain types of hearing aids are listed below:

• Fixed directional microphone setting
• Multidirectional microphone setting
• Music setting
• Telecoil setting
• Telephone setting
• Television setting
• Wireless setting

Omni Hearing will help you to understand these various program settings, their features and the times/locations where they will likely be most useful to you.

Volume

Volume control is an optional feature found on some styles of hearing aids. Volume controls allow the hearing aid user to adjust the volume level of the hearing aid. Omni Hearing?s specialists will help work to customize volume settings and offer free advice on the best times and environments to make volume adjustments to your hearing aids.

Vents

Hearing aid vents work to equalize the air pressure inside your ear canal with the pressure on the outside (i.e. behind the hearing aid). Omni Hearing can offer you suggestions on the type of hearing aids and hearing aid vents that will likely be the most effective for the shape and contour of your ears.

Earmolds

Earmolds are customized hearing aid components which are used with Behind The Ear?style hearing aids.

Omni Hearing offers a wide variety of different earmolds made with the following materials and specifications:

• Acrylic
• Deep Fit
• Hard Materials
• Hypoallergenic Materials
• Large
• Micro mold
• Power mold
• Silicone
• Skin Tone
• Soft Material

The space behind the ear changes as we age. For this reason, Omni Hearing recommends changing your earmolds about every second year. More frequent changes are often required by children because their ears are constantly growing. This is true – both for the space behind the ear – and for the space inside the ear itself. Consequently, Behind The Ear?hearing aids are usually the best choice for children.

Earmolds also require frequent cleaning with water. Earmold cleaning should only be done after the earmold has been completely detached from the hearing aid.

Omni Hearing is able to provide you with great advice to help ensure you select the best type of hearing aid and hearing aid earmolds for you and your loved ones.

HEARING AID MANUFACTURERS

Omni Hearing is proud to offer a wide selection of Canadian-made hearing aids and hearing aid products. A list of these manufacturers has been provided.

• Bernafon
• Beltone
• GN Resound
• Oticon
• Phonak
• Siemens
• Sonic Innovations
• Starkey
• Unitron
• Widex