Who makes the best hearing aids?

Question

Who makes the best hearing aids?

Answer

We always recommend you get your hearing aid from an independent company that can offer you at least the ‘big six’ of hearing aid manufacturers. These are:

• Phonak
• Resound
• Oticon
• Widex
• Starkey
• Siemens

All these manufacturers produce good quality hearing instruments. Each of them provides a range of different technology levels in a variety of shapes and sizes. It is fair to say that each one of them brings something different to the consumer.

There is no single “best” hearing aid manufacturer. ReSound are particularly good at wireless technology and are one of the largest suppliers of hearing aids in the world, selling them in more than 80 countries; whilst Starkey are good at producing very small In-The-Ear type hearing aids. On the other hand Phonak, a huge international hearing aid company, are great if a lot of amplification is needed. Founded In 1947, Phonak has been considered one of the leaders in hearing aid technology for decades.

Widex, a forward-thinking company based in Denmark, produce hearing aids that are great for people with progressive hearing loss, or children born with hearing difficulties. Oticon, based in New Jersey, was founded in 1904 by a man who wanted to help his hearing-impaired wife, and has long been at the forefront of hearing and auditory research. Their aids are particularly good for children born with hearing problems and people with age-related and progressive hearing loss.

Taking all this into consideration, it is best to have a choice of all these manufacturers on offer to you, rather than just one or two. You need to be able to ‘test drive’ different models and find out what works best for you.

New hearing technology is being developed all the time and you can’t predict which manufacturer may have just what you need. If the company you are dealing with doesn’t offer you more than one or two manufacturers then be aware – they may only sell brands they are owned by or tied into.

Author: Paul Harrison

Date: Tuesday 16th June, 2020

Published in: Hearing Aid Questions

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