{"id":1459,"date":"2014-09-11T16:12:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-11T16:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pdxent.com\/?p=1459"},"modified":"2020-10-20T23:07:58","modified_gmt":"2020-10-20T23:07:58","slug":"buying-hearing-aids-online-bad-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pdxent.com\/buying-hearing-aids-online-bad-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Buying Hearing Aids Online is a Bad Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"
Online shopping is more popular than ever. When it comes to your hearing health, this is a bad idea: attempting to find a solution for your hearing loss without consulting a trained hearing professional<\/a> is risky to your health, according to the FDA. You may save a few dollars up front, but keep in mind there are many different factors that contribute to hearing loss<\/a>. Unless you know what is causing yours, you could be ignoring a serious medical issue. In addition, over-the-counter generic hearing devices<\/a> and those purchased on the Internet often provide little improvement in hearing, meaning you\u2019ll be spending money without receiving any real benefit.<\/p>\n Your hearing loss might be the result of something fairly innocuous, such as impacted earwax. \u201cAt the other end of the spectrum,\u201d explains Dr. Eric Mann, Clinical Deputy Director of the FDA\u2019s division of ophthalmic and ENT devices, \u201cit could be something as serious as a tumor pressing on the hearing nerve.\u201d Admittedly this is a worst-case scenario, but even if your hearing loss is the cause of natural aging or noise exposure and can be improved by wearing hearing aids, it\u2019s important to have a hearing care professional with experience in fitting and programming hearing aids examine you initially.<\/p>\n