Even hard-of-hearing people still desire to wear headphones for various reasons. We often have patients asking the following questions:
- Can I wear headphones if I have hearing difficulty?
- What type of headphones is best if I wear hearing aids?
To answer your questions:
- You can wear headphones despite your hearing difficulty. However, you must ensure that you keep the volume at safe levels to avoid causing further damage to your hearing.
- If you have hearing aids, you may not be able to use regular headphones with the best results. Some headphones are designed with you in mind if you use hearing aids.
When exploring headphone styles, these are our top recommendations:
Headphone Styles
Over-Ear Headphones
Over-ear headphones sit over the ear, as the name suggests, and are great for noise cancellation. We like these headphones, especially if you wear a hearing aid, because they will not interfere with the device. These types of headphones work best with the following hearing aid types:
- ITE (in-the-ear)
- ITC (in-the-canal)
- BTE (behind-the-ear)
- RIC (receiver-in-canal)
Thankfully over-ear headphones are stylish, with several big-name brands to choose from.
Bone Conduction Headphones
Bone conduction headphones use vibrations through your jawbone and cheekbones to simulate sound waves in your inner ear. The inner ear is where all the hearing takes place, as it is where the eardrum is situated. These headphones work great if you have hearing aids in the ear or the ear canal, much like the over-ear headphones.
Bone conduction headphones work great to help your hearing while protecting you from further hearing loss.
On-Ear Headphones
On-ear headphones sit on the ear and transmit sound waves down into the inner ear. They look just like any other type of headphones. If you have a hearing aid, these headphones will only work well with CIC (completely-in-the-canal) and IIC(invisible-in-the-canal) hearing aids.
Tips for Using Headphones If You UseHearing Aids
- Reduce the length of listening time to prevent sound from becoming damaging. At the same time, ensure that the decibel level of your headphones is below 85.
- Pick noise-cancelling headphones over other headphones. Most times, you will find that you increase the volume of your music to drown out ambient noise.
If you wear hearing aids to support your hearing needs, headphones are not out of the question. Take time to research brands, and don't be afraid to try a few different pairs before settling on ones that work best for you and your hearing needs.
Ask us about more hearing health care tips at Altrincham Hearing Centre – Contact us here