Hearing Aid manufacturers are always looking for new ways to attract more patients and creating more “invisible” hearing aids has been a top priority for most of them. One of the most recent inventions in the hearing aid world is the Lyric (which is also been released under the name Wow!). Both Lyric and Wow! fit very deep into the ear canal right before your eardrum and it is so small that it literally cannot be seen! You can wear them 24 hours a day, sleep with them, and shower with them. There are no controls to manipulate and the reportedly have decent sound quality and they can be programmed to fit your hearing loss.

The negative side, in our opinion, outweighs the positive. Both Lyric and Wow! are very expensive, ranging from $1,700 – $2,000 per year per ear! Over a five year period, you will end up spending around $16,000 – $20,000 on a pair of Lyric or Wow! hearing aids! That is more than 3 times what you would spend for the most expensive hearing instruments available today, and there is no evidence that you will hear any better. The manufacturer surveyed 67 people that said they thought it sounded better than their old hearing instruments, but no scientific research. Over the past year, we have spoken to several users who were changing back to traditional hearing aids after their year was up with Lyric.

At first, a lot of the hype that we heard about these hearing aids, was that you could swim while wearing them. This is not recommended, however, as it could damage the hearing device. You can take the hearing aids out, but you cannot put them back in once you do! You have to make an appointment to have a new device inserted, because once removed they are not allowed to put the old hearing aids back in again.

A large majority of patients cannot wear these hearing aids because their ear canal is not the right size, or has too much bend, they have too severe of a hearing loss, or they have a medical condition which precludes it. There is a danger that moisture could get trapped down deep in your ear canal which could lead to an infection. While the hearing aids are programmable, they are not digital. The amount of fine tuning available is very limited, about the same as we had on analog programmable hearing aids 12 years ago.

Invisible hearing aids are a great idea, but these still need some work and the price is far to high for most patients to be able to afford them. The hearing aids offered today by the major manufacturers are so discreet that they are virtually invisible. Technology has advanced so much and it is leaps and bounds better than what we had even just a few short years ago. The price tag for quality hearing aids is coming down, though they are still not “cheap”. Our recommendation is to save your money and stick with more traditional hearing aids. You could buy a new car or take an exotic vacation with the money you save!

Kelly C. Calkins, AuD., has practiced audiology for over 20 years. For more information about <a href="http://www.adviceonhearingaids.com” rel=”nofollow”><a href="http://www.adviceonhearingaids.com” rel=”nofollow”>hearing aids or to find the nearest <a href="http://www.adviceonhearingaids.com” rel=”nofollow”>hearing aid professional to you visit our website at http://www.adviceonhearingaids.com
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Tagged with: Audiologist • Digital Hearing Aids • Hearing Aid • Hearing Aids • Hearing Clinic • lyric • wow hearing aid

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