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As with any other problem with your health, there is no one way to address hearing loss. Your family doctor may have some suggestions and refer you to an audiologist who has more advice. Even though you will be seeing a lot of professionals in the course of the process, the responsibility will inevitably fall back to you. It's important to keep your wits about you and avoid the mistakes common to people looking for help with a hearing problem. Here are five things to look out for.

1. Accepting your own impatience. Your patience will be tried in the course of finding a solution, as the process may be neither fun nor brief when it's all said and done. Sitting through a test at an audiologist's office or getting fitted for different hearing aids may make you want to cut the process short when you find the first acceptable solution. Don't give in to these impulses; keeping your focus and patience till the end is the only way to go when a long term solution is on the line.

2. Dealing with a bad fit. After sound itself, it's all about the fit when it comes to a hearing aid. You will be going about your day with discomfort if you accept the bad fit of an inexperienced audiologist. Remember that only you can accurately assess a fit after a certain point. In fact, even if an audiologist is assuring you a better model is not available, don't agree to anything which makes you uncomfortable in the slightest bit.

3. Going beyond your budget. Some facts in life can simply not be worked around, and a budget is one of those things for a lot of people. Choosing a hearing aid solely based on price is unwise, but at the same time going beyond your budget limitations is an equally bad decision. Map out the costs of getting tested and getting the device itself, reminding yourself not to stray unless you find the solution that is worth any price to you.

4. Jumping into the mix without having done the research first. Even though it would seem like second nature, there are still a lot of people who do not do the necessary research when going shopping for a hearing aid. Looking at the different types of loss, the different devices for addressing problems and the specialists involved are all important. Ask around if you have friends using listening devices and get feedback. Each of these steps will help you get the device which makes you happy in the end.

5. Giving yourself only one chance. You might walk out the door of an audiologist's office feeling like you have solved the problem for good, but living with a hearing aid is a different matter altogether. Give yourself an ‘out' in the form of a warranty or trial period, so you don't go through the entire process for nothing. Compare the follow-up service and warranties of all the devices you're considering.