Can Hearing Aids Be Reused?

audiologist fitting hearing aids to patient

For anyone experiencing hearing loss, one of the most common treatments and solutions available is, of course, a hearing aid. In many respects, hearing aids is one of the greatest medical inventions there have been and it’s something that you are certainly going to want to make use of if you happen to have hearing loss. However, it’s important that you do so officially, as otherwise you might not have the right kind of experience and your hearing aid might not work in the way you would hope.

What does this mean? Well, it means that you need to use hearing aids which are made for you. If you are wondering whether you could save time and money by using used hearing aids, this is actually a question that many people have asked in the past, and this is what we are going to discuss right here and now for you.

Hearing Aid Styles

First of all, we can get to the bottom of this a little clearer and quicker if we consider the various kinds of hearing aid styles. There are so many hearing aids that you might be wanting, and they vary a lot in terms of what they do, how they work and so on. There are three major styles of hearing aid that you might want to be aware of, and understanding them might help us later on, so let’s take a look right now.

In-the-Ear (ITE) Hearing Aids

First up, we have in-the-ear hearing aids. These are, as the name suggests, those that go in the ear itself, and often they can be very discrete and subtle for the wearer, meaning that people might not even know that you are wearing a hearing aid at all. That can be important for some people. This kind of hearing aid needs to fit properly, or else it might not be comfortable and it might not work properly. Clearly, if you were going to use an old hearing aid, you’d need to make sure it fit properly.

Behind-the-Ear (BTE) Hearing Aids

Behind-the-ear hearing aids you might think are a little more likely to be one-size-fits-all, but they are not, and you still need to have one fitted to you specifically. Even though they sit behind the ear, you’ll find that they can vary a lot in size and shape and you need one that is going to fit snugly behind your ear without falling out or causing you any trouble.

In-the-Canal (ITC) Hearing Aids

With this type it is probably clearest how you won’t be able to use a used one. After all, it needs to fit within your ear canal without causing you any trouble, and that means that it needs to be properly fitted before you even try to use it. Here too, then, you need to ensure that you are having one fitted specifically for your ear, and with your needs taken into account.

Hearing Aid Programming

But it’s not just the different styles that might matter when you are thinking about reusing an old hearing aid. There is also the fact of programming. When you receive a new hearing aid from your audiologist, they will go through it with you and explain it all and they will have made sure that it is programmed for your ear and your hearing needs specifically. The chances of a used hearing aid being programmed right for you is highly unlikely, even if it is one of your own from the past.

So, for this reason too it might not be a good idea to use a used hearing aid.

Should You Use an Old Hearing Aid?

So, can a hearing aid be reused? The short answer is no. Reusing a hearing aid doesn’t allow for the right programming to take place for your hearing needs, and nor does it allow for you to have the right custom fit for your ear either. The result would be a hearing aid that neither works, nor is comfortable for the ear – and what would be the point of that?

Instead, you should always seek out the help of an audiologist, who will be able to take you through your needs and recommend the right hearing aid just for you. That is a much better solution compared to using a used hearing aid.

To find an audiologist that can help you in this regard, be sure to get in touch with Kirsch Audiology at 310-586-5533.