Beltone Blog

Hearing loss can be difficult for someone to admit they are facing it.  Whether it is through the inability to recognize it, or from just being stubborn enough to admit it's there, hearing loss can go untreated for a long time.  Prevention and protection are key in helping to preserve your or your loved ones’ quality of life.  

What are your favorite sounds of the season? Birds singing good morning, crickets chirping in the evening, your grandchildren laughing as they play outside? Spring is a happy time of year full of family gatherings and activities with friends.

In life, there are many tests that you must take: pop quizzes, driving tests and college entrance exams. There are also tests that you don’t need to study for, such as eyesight exams or a hearing evaluation.

Are hearing tests free? The short answer? At Beltone, hearing tests are free! If you’re perhaps just noticing that you may have a hearing loss or if it’s been noticeable to you for a while, Beltone offers not only a FREE online hearing test, but all of our Beltone locations offer FREE hearing screenings.

The chirp of a cricket. The hum of a refrigerator. The ticking of a grandfather clock. These are just a few of the sounds Krista Stump didn’t know existed until the age of 45. “I didn’t miss them,” she said, “because I didn’t know they were there.” The daughter of an Ohio dairy farmer, Krista never knew she had a hearing problem. In retrospect, she recalls she always sat in front of the class as a child. And, when she began her career as an elementary school teacher, she repeatedly urged her students to, “Speak up!”

Combing through any magazine or newspaper nowadays, you’re bound to come across an ad that looks like the most inexpensive hearing aid ever made that claims it’s going to restore your hearing back to a normal hearing level. This is false. These are known as hearing amplifiers and we want you to understand the difference between a hearing amplifier and a hearing aid.

After it has been determined that you are suffering from hearing loss in both ears (bilateral hearing loss) from a licensed hearing care practitioner or an audiologist, it’s important to remember why you should invest in two hearing aids instead of settling on just one.

It’s not easy bringing up hearing loss with a family member or friend. The most common reaction is, after all, “hearing loss? Not me!” Whatever the reason your loved one gives for denying they have a hearing problem, it’s critically important that you have this conversation —because hearing loss not only takes its toll on everyday activities and social relationships, it can also threaten your loved one’s physical and mental health. 

May is Better Hearing Month, and more than 34 million Americans, (most over 65), have hearing deficiencies. Back in 1980, President Ronald Reagan, who struggled with hearing loss himself, designated May as the country’s official month to heighten awareness about hearing health.

Were you aware that the entire month of May is dedicated to Better Hearing and Speech? It gives those in this industry the opportunity to shed light on the millions of people who suffer from hearing loss, speech or voice impairment.

Many parts of the country are already basking in beautiful warm weather, while others are slowly counting down the days to the first official day of summer. In either case, it’s important to understand how to take care of your hearing aids when the temperatures start rising.

So, you’re pretty confident you have hearing loss, or you took our Online Hearing Test and it reflected you had hearing loss. Your next step probably involved searching the Internet to figure out what you should do now.