"Hearing aid" alone is not enough !

Hearing aids work very well when fit and adjusted appropriately. They amplify sound ! Hearing aids do not restore normal hearing and are not as good as normal hearing. Hearing aids should not to be worn in extremely noisy environments. Some hearing aids have features that make noisy environment more tolerable; however, hearing aids cannot eliminate background noise.

To communicate effectively, you need to fully utilize your ears AND eyes. You will not communicate well using your hearing aids alone. To facilitate optimal communication, you will need to pick up cues from the speaker's gestures, body language and facial expressions ! Besides that, remember to reduce the distance between the speaker and the listener, reduce or eliminate background noises from the listening environment and use good lighting. If someone is speaking to you from another room, while the radio is on, with children playing at your side, it will be very difficult to adequately communicate, despite fantastic hearing aids !

Who is an Audiologist ?

Audiology is the science of hearing. In Malaysia, an audiologist is a person who at least has a bachelor degree in audiology. An audiologist is only qualified to practice if he/ she fulfills 300 clock hours of supervised clinical practicum.

Audiologists work in variety of settings including hospitals, schools, clinics, private audiology practices, universities, rehabilitation facilities, speech and hearing centers, hearing aid dispensing offices, hearing aid manufacturing facilities, medical centers, as well as otolaryngology (ENT physician) offices. Many audiologist also dispense hearing aids and related assistive listening devices for the telephone, TV and special listening situations.