Before You Buy Hearing Aids: 7 Questions Every South Jersey Consumer Should Ask
If you've finally decided to do something about your hearing, congratulations.
But don't buy hearing aids yet.
First, ask some questions.
Today's hearing aids can be extraordinary. Advanced technology can help people understand conversations in background noise, connect to smartphones and televisions, automatically adapt to changing listening environments and provide sound quality that would have been unimaginable a generation ago.
But after more than 40 years of helping families throughout South Jersey, we've learned something equally important:
Successful hearing care isn't just about which hearing aid you buy. It's about who fits it, what you're actually buying and what happens after you leave the office.
Before choosing hearing aids or a hearing care provider in South Jersey, here are seven questions we would want someone in our own family to ask.
- Who Is Actually Testing and Fitting My Hearing Aids?
Start here.
Ask about the qualifications and experience of the person who will evaluate your hearing, recommend technology, fit your devices and make future adjustments.
That matters because hearing aids aren't simply products you put in your ears.
Your hearing loss is individual. So are your listening needs, lifestyle, physical comfort and expectations.
At Miracle-Ear South Jersey, our hearing care professionals include people with decades of experience.
Michael “Mike” Gatto has spent more than 30 years helping people with hearing loss. He is Nationally Board Certified in Hearing Instrument Sciences, factory trained and licensed by the State of New Jersey. Mike sees patients at our English Creek office in Egg Harbor Township and our North Cape May office.
Michael Romanini brings more than 25 years of hearing-care experience and is board certified, with particular expertise in optimizing hearing aid technology for comfort, fit and real-world performance.
Janine Thomas is a New Jersey State Licensed Hearing Aid Dispenser with more than eight years of experience. She is factory trained and has received outstanding 5-star Google feedback from patients for her care and service.
When you're choosing someone to care for your hearing, credentials and experience are reasonable things to ask about.
- Am I Buying New, Current Technology?
This question is more important than many consumers realize.
Hearing aids advertised in the marketplace aren't necessarily equivalent simply because they look similar.
Ask:
Are these hearing aids new?
Who manufactured them?
Are they current-generation technology?
Are they refurbished or reconditioned?
What warranty am I receiving?
There's nothing inherently wrong with knowingly choosing refurbished equipment when it's properly disclosed and appropriate for the consumer.
But you should know what you're buying.
A dramatically lower advertised price may not represent the same product, technology, warranty or service package being offered somewhere else.
Compare value—not just the number in the advertisement.
- Am I Paying for Technology I Actually Need?
The most expensive hearing aid isn't automatically the right hearing aid.
Neither is the cheapest.
Someone who primarily has quiet conversations at home may have very different needs from someone who frequently attends meetings, travels, goes to restaurants or spends time in challenging social environments.
Today's advanced hearing aids can use sophisticated digital processing and artificial intelligence to analyze changing sound environments and help manage competing noise.
That's remarkable technology.
But not everyone needs the same level of it.
At Miracle-Ear, we offer solutions at different technology and price levels because the recommendation should fit the patient's hearing, lifestyle and budget.
A good hearing care professional should be able to explain what you're paying for—and why you need it.
- What Happens After I Get My Hearing Aids?
This may be the most overlooked question of all.
We regularly meet people who already own hearing aids but don't wear them.
Sometimes those hearing aids cost thousands of dollars.
They're sitting in a drawer.
Why?
Often, the problem isn't simply the hearing aid.
Successfully adapting to hearing technology can require follow-up appointments, programming changes, counseling, cleaning and adjustments based on what the patient experiences in real life.
A hearing aid might sound great in a quiet office but need refinement after you've worn it at a family dinner, church, a restaurant or your weekly card game.
That's why we believe hearing care should be a relationship rather than a transaction.
Miracle-Ear patients receive lifetime aftercare.
We don't measure success by whether someone leaves our office wearing hearing aids.
We measure success by whether they're still happily wearing them years later.
- Who Will Take Care of Me Five Years From Now?
Hearing aids are a long-term investment.
So think beyond today's appointment.
Ask what happens if your hearing changes.
Who will clean your hearing aids?
Who will adjust them?
Where will you go when you have a problem?
And perhaps most importantly:
What kind of organization stands behind your care for the long term?
Miracle-Ear has been serving South Jersey families for more than 40 years, with local offices serving Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem Counties.
Our local patients also have the support of more than 1,600 Miracle-Ear locations nationwide.
For South Jersey residents who travel, relocate or spend winters in another state, that national network can be an important advantage.
You receive local relationships backed by national resources.
- What Kind of Support Will My Family and I Receive?
Hearing loss rarely affects just one person.
Spouses repeat themselves.
Children worry that Mom or Dad isn't hearing important information.
Grandchildren become frustrated when conversations have to be repeated.
That's why we encourage families to be part of the hearing-care process when appropriate.
And ongoing support doesn't come only from the professional fitting the hearing aids.
Our patient care team includes Susan Ficken, Certified Front Office Associate and Patient Care Coordinator, and Melissa Groves, Front Office Associate and Patient Care Coordinator.
Melissa has been with Miracle-Ear for more than five years and is factory certified and trained.
Susan and Melissa help patients with scheduling, follow-up visits and continuing care because sometimes what a patient needs most is simply a familiar person who knows them and can help.
That's part of hearing care too.
- Would This Provider Recommend the Same Care to Their Own Family?
This is the question that brings everything together.
If we were helping our own mother, father, spouse, sibling or close friend choose hearing aids, we wouldn't tell them to choose solely because of an advertisement or the lowest advertised price.
We'd want to know:
Who is evaluating their hearing?
What are that person's credentials?
What hearing aid are they actually receiving?
Is it new?
Why is that particular technology being recommended?
What does it cost?
What service is included?
And who is going to take care of them afterward?
We would want honest answers.
We would want high-quality technology.
And we would want an experienced team that would still be standing behind our family member after the sale.
If we wouldn't confidently recommend our care to our own family, we wouldn't recommend it to yours.
Don't Start With a Hearing Aid. Start With a Hearing Evaluation.
If you're beginning to research hearing aids in South Jersey, you don't need to make a purchasing decision today.
Start by finding out where your hearing stands.
A complimentary hearing evaluation can help identify whether hearing loss is present and give you an opportunity to ask questions, understand your options and meet the people who may be caring for your hearing.
Miracle-Ear South Jersey has been helping local families hear better for more than 40 years.
Our four locations serve communities throughout Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem Counties:
Egg Harbor Township
North Cape May
Vineland — conveniently located inside the Vineland Walmart
Woodstown
Or simply call 609-646-2210.
One phone number connects you with our South Jersey team, and we'll help schedule your complimentary hearing evaluation at the office most convenient for you.
Before you buy hearing aids, ask questions.
Know what you're buying.
Know who's fitting it.
Know what happens after the fitting.
And know who's going to be there for you in the years ahead.
Your hearing is too important to choose based on an advertisement alone.
Lee Enterprises newsrooms were not involved in the creation of this content.
