With the mound of information out there it can be a daunting task choosing which ear hearing aid is going to be right for you, but don't despair, along with an abundance of data comes sites that will literallytake you by the hand and lead you to the perfect unit.

One of the first decisions you will have to make is whether to purchase analogue or digital and it will help to understand a little about both.

With an analogue unitthe sounds you hear will be converted into electronic signals which will then be amplified before being passed through to the earphone on the hearing aid.  You may find some analogue units can be programmed for different situations, whilst some can make sounds seem louder, but may not actually be able to discriminate between them.  Analogue units are usually a little cheaper than their digital counterparts.

As for digital units,unlike analogue, they convert sounds that are processed more precisely via a tiny computer, which can also be programmed to suit an individual's hearing loss problem according to their lifestyle, for example in the workplace or in more social situations.  Digital units will also suppress background noise, rendering speech easier to hear which is a bonus in especially noisy environments.  Understandably, more often than not you will find that digital units are a little more expensive than analogue ones.

One of the advantages of modern technology is that you can have your unitcustom madeto fit your own ear canal, which means that the unit shouldn't keep slipping out so avoiding the need for constant adjustment, which in turn will render them almost invisible, which is an added bonus for the more self-conscious of us!

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of your new hearing aid you need to bear in mind is that you can have some unitspre-programmed with your own hearing test resultsfrom your doctor, supplying a unit that is unique to you.