Hearing Aid FAQs

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Please find below our most commonly asked questions regarding hearing aids and our hearing services. If you do not find what you are looking for we are always happy to answer your questions. Please call us or use the contact form on the left of this page to get in touch.

Are there any rebates available for hearing aids?

Yes, please see our funding and finance page for details.

If you are an Australian Pensioner or Veteran you are entitled to free hearing services, including hearing aids, through the Hearing Services Program. We can provide these services. Please see our Pensioners and Veterans page for more information.

You are not a preferred provider of my health insurer, can I still see you?

Yes, you can choose to see any audiologist you wish. You are still entitled to the same rebates.

Am I entitled to free hearing aids?

If you are under 26 years old and an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident you are entitled to free hearing aids. Please see our Child Hearing Test page for details.

If I wear hearing aids how often should I have my hearing checked?

Hearing changes over time. Hearing and Audiology recommend having your hearing checked annually if you are wearing hearing aids. This is so your hearing aids can be adjusted to match your current hearing thresholds, enabling your aids to perform better. We also recommend having your hearing checked at any time if you notice there has been a change.

How often should I have my hearing aid serviced?

Hearing aids are precision instruments. In order for them to function optimally they need to be serviced regularly. We recommend you have your hearing aids serviced annually, at the same time as you have your hearing checked. We also recommend you have your hearing aid sent away for a manufacturer’s warranty service just before the hearing aid’s warranty expires – this is normally 3 years after fitting. If you were fitted by us and would like to know your warranty expiry date please call us. For more details see our Repairs, Adjustments and Parts page.

Do you work on commission?

No, our audiologists do not receive any incentives for recommending certain hearing aids or treatment plans to you. This is to ensure your best interests are always the priority and treatments are only ever recommended when they are clinically indicated. We are independently owned and operated, meaning we stock all the major hearing aid brands and will offer you independent advice on what is best for you.

What hearing aid brands do you stock?

We are independently owned and operated, meaning we stock all the major hearing aid brands and will offer you independent advice on what is best for you. Our hearing aid brands include Phonak, Unitron, Oticon, Widex, Starkey and Siemens/Signia (which are owned by Sivantos).

Can a hearing aid make me hear normally?

A hearing aid is a tool to help you hear better, unfortunately it is not a cure. The technology in hearing aids is getting better and better though, making sounds clearer and more natural than ever before. It is important you understand that hearing aids have their limits and in order to get the most out of hearing aids you need to have a hearing rehabilitation plan to support the aids. Our audiologists will work with you, designing you an individual hearing rehabilitation plan to ensure that you have the best hearing possible.

How many hours a day should I wear my hearing aids?

The more you wear your hearing aids, the better your hearing will become. This is because of something called auditory deprivation. You’ve heard the saying “use it or lose it”. This is particularly true of hearing. When you aren’t wearing your hearing aids your brain isn’t receiving proper signals from your ears, so your brain’s neural networks aren’t being stimulated. This causes the networks to degrade. The more you wear your hearing aids the more your neural networks are firing, and the better they become. We recommend wearing your hearing aids for at least 8 hours a day, from when you wake up to when you go to bed, just to give you brain constant engagement. If you do this for a few months you should see a difference in your speech recognition and even cognition.

Are two hearing aids better than one?

If you have a hearing loss in both ears we always recommend getting two hearing aids instead of one. There are many reasons for this. The most important reason is that research shows when only one hearing aid is worn, the unaided ear tends to lose its ability to hear and understand. This is clinically called the auditory deprivation, which is explained in the section above. Those wearing two hearing instruments keep both ears active, keeping auditory deprivation at bay. If you want to know more reasons two hearing aids are better than one you can read our newsletters, starting from the 12^th edition, where Kristen, one of our audiologists, has done a series on this very topic.

Book An Appointment

For more information about our hearing healthcare services, please call (08) 9388 8003 or book online using the form below. We conduct the tests at our Perth based clinics, located in Subiaco and Duncraig, as well as at our Geraldton clinic.

Looking for something else?

If you didn’t find what you were looking for here then have a look at our other FAQs:

For more detailed information on hearing aids look at our hearing aid pages:

For more information on Hearing and Audiology click here.

Book An Appointment

For more information about our hearing healthcare services, please call (08) 9388 8003 or book online using the form below. We conduct hearing tests at our Perth based clinics, located in Subiaco, Manning and Duncraig, as well as at our Geraldton clinic.