Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the signs we need to watch out for in ourselves and others:

• Leaning in and appearing to be straining to hear
• Misunderstanding conversations and often asking for repeats or guessing or missing what was said rather than hearing it the first time
• Feeling that people are mumbling 
• Straining to hear in some situations more than before and more than others (e.g. in noisy or group settings)
• Difficulty hearing people when they are behind us or when their face is not visible for lipreading
• Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
• Turning the television or radio up in order to hear, however, it may be louder than others prefer
• Difficulty hearing and following conversations on the telephone
• Speaking loudly and dominating conversations
• Needing to be close to the person speaking
• Having to concentrate closely on what other people say and feeling tired at the end of the day from all the extra effort put into listening
• Feeling it would be easier to stay home than attend social situations and have to listen and converse
• Dropping out of conversations more regularly than before
• Having trouble hearing when spoken to from another room
• Replies are not matching the questions asked and feeling embarrassed or depressed or confused more than before
• No longer hearing sounds such as the indicator in the car, the doorbell, birds tweeting outside or the telephone ring

Significant amounts of ear wax can thwart hearing testing and needs to be removed prior to hearing test appointments for appropriate, accurate and reliable results. It is a great idea to visit your local GP to ask them if you have an ear wax build up in either ear prior to your appointment. At your local pharmacy there are a range of ear wax softeners available to use for 3 days and then the GP or nurse can syringe out the wax during an appointment if it is appropriate and comfortable to do so. Ear candles have not been proven to cause a vacuum and many find them to not be useful for wax removal purposes. Instead, it might be best to see your doctor or consider the dedicated ear toileting clinic - Coolangatta Ear Clinic, which offers a full scope of ear wax removal services (fees applicable) with experienced doctors. 

 Communication is vital to human existence. According to a groundbreaking study published by the National Council on Aging (1999), "Untreated hearing loss has serious emotional and social consequences for older persons." The benefits hearing aid users reported in their lives ranged from improved relationships at home and sense of independence to improved social and sex life. According to the study, the families of hearing-aid users noticed improvements in every dimension the survey  measured. So if wearing hearing aids allows you to resume activities you enjoy, improve relationships with friends and family, retain your independence and confidence in conversations the cost becomes a lot more justifiable. 

Besides helping you to hear and understand voices better, properly adjusted hearing aids will allow you to hear sounds that previously may not have been audible. You may notice that your own voice is louder, too. Your entire auditory system will adjust to the to new sounds that may have not been heard for a long time. Rediscovering the sound of wrinkling newspaper or water running may be annoying at first. However, after about 2-3 weeks, you will notice an adjustment to these environmental sounds. Gradually increasing the amount of time you wear the hearing aids and following the schedule provided by your audiologist will result in an easier transition to amplified sound. During the initial adjustment period, you may be asked to visit the audiologist several times so that he/she may  monitor your progress and adjust the controls of your hearing aid(s), if needed. These follow-up visits are crucial to your success with  amplification.

New Starkey aids offer a Self-Check function on their app to verify the cause of sound problems. 

Ear Wax
The number one cause of hearing aid failure is ear wax debris in the speaker opening of the hearing aid, the small hole in the hearing aid that goes into your ear. If your hearing aid stops working, first check this part of the hearing aid to be sure that it is free of any ear wax or other debris. Use the brush or the pick that came with your hearing aid to carefully remove the blockage. Hearing aids should be inspected and cleaned daily to prevent problems. If you have a chronic problem with wax build-up, your audiologist may offer other solutions.

Weak or Dead Battery
The second most common cause of hearing aid failure is a depleted or weak battery. Test your battery or replace it with a fresh battery.

If you have cleaned the hearing aid and replaced the battery and your hearing and continues to malfunction, contact your audiologist.

  Hearing Australia is proud to be a registered Provider of the Government's Hearing Services Program which offers hugely beneficial subsidies on vital hearing services and products for eligible Australian pensioners and veterans including:

1. A completely FREE comprehensive hearing test (once every 3 years)
2. Fully or Partially Subsidised hearing aids or assistive listening devices, if you need them (once every 5 years)
3. All hearing aid batteries and maintenance – covered for an annual fee set by the government 1 July annually
4. Replacement aids are fully or partially subsidised when aids are lost or damaged beyond repair (with replacement fee) 
5. Ongoing, customised support from a university qualified hearing expert with FREE annual hearing aid reviews

You are eligible for a voucher if you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident 21 years or older and you are:

• A Pensioner Concession Card holder (light blue card)
• A Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card holder
• A Department of Veterans’ Affairs White Card holder issued for specific conditions that includes hearing loss
• Receiving a Centrelink Sickness Allowance
• A dependent of a person in one of the above categories
• A member of the Australian Defence Force
• NDIS participant referred by an NDIA planner

Please note that a Seniors Health Card unfortunately does not provide eligibility for the program.

Once eligible, you can choose to be with any ONE registered Hearing Services Provider of the Government Program at any time. If you have been with another provider however wish to have ongoing services with Customised Hearing, your file and all important previous hearing health history information can be transferred within a couple of weeks of your request being put through the computer. So please do not hesitate to call if you would like to arrange for your file transfer (free service). Your battery and maintenance contract (if current) will also be transferred and recommences from the transfer date and is valid for the next 12 months, so this means you could get more value with the extension of your B&M coverage by transferring. If it is convenient, why not transfer today?

Call Louise on 0466 655 828 and she will check your eligibility through the computer for you.

Some modern top-up hearing aids have a 'Find my Hearing Aid' function and their last known location of each aid can be displayed on a map on a smart phone or device if it had been activated to perform this function. 

Under the government program, if an aid is lost, replacement fully subsidised aids only incur a replacement fee (for one or two aids replaced) and a completed statutory declaration is required. These requirements have been waived currently as a temporary covid-related procedure. If it is a lost top-up aid, you are again liable for the top up portion and Louise can provide you with a quotation. Home and contents insurance can be used to cover hearing aids if they are registered as a moveable item and it is best to speak with your insurer to cover the aids soon after your purchase. 

Please let Louise know and bring damaged aid/s into the clinic when possible. The aids can be sent away for checks and repairs and the manufacturer will advise of the repair options or when we need to order a replacement device (usually within 2 weeks). Loan aids are available (in a behind the ear style only) so that you have something to help you hear (instead of nothing) whilst your aid/s are away for repairs. You will be contacted as soon as the repaired or replacement aid is available in the clinic for you.  

If the device has had a swim / splash of water, sometimes hearing aids dry out over a few days with the battery door open with the batteries removed. They may work again once the moisture has evaporated. New hearing aids are more water resistant than ever before, but they do not like immersion / swimming underwater. They become intermittent in function and would then be best sent to the manufacturer for an appraisal of how they can be fixed for steady normal amplification. 

If there has been a crunch of an aid by a foot, mouth or other object, bring all of the bits into the clinic in a tissue or zip-lock bag, and if it is possible to super-glue these bits back together, Louise will do her best to fix it, or it can be fixed by the manufacturer for you usually within 2 weeks.

New ear moulds may require new ear shape impressions to be taken in an appointment and the new aids generally take up to 2 weeks to arrive back into the clinic for you.