Frequently Asked Questions

If you have friends and family telling you that you should have your hearing checked, you should definitely schedule a hearing test. Difficulty hearing is a frustrating fact of life that people often associate with aging, and as a result, many people will become defensive at the suggestion that they misheard something, however, it’s important to remember that any concern they express is out of love, and the person with the hearing loss is often the last one to realize it.

Dennison Hearing Solutions and many doctors also make a blanket recommendation that anyone over the age of 55 schedule annual hearing tests. This will allow us to establish a baseline and track your hearing as it changes throughout the years.

It’s true that some people just mumble. If you have a teenager in your life that you can’t understand, they really may just not speak as clearly as you’d like. However, if you feel like a lot of people in your life mumble, or speak too quickly you very well may be experiencing hearing loss. Hearing Loss is often better characterized as a lack of clarity or understanding. Whenever we hear, our brain is taking all of the different phonetic sounds and putting them together in a way that makes sense. As you develop hearing loss, you will begin missing out on some of that phonetic information, so your brain has to work harder to understand what is being said. This can result in a jumble of sounds that your brain struggles to comprehend.

The science connecting hearing loss and dementia or other cognitive problems is still relatively new and we’re learning more every day. What we can say with confidence is that untreated hearing loss can lead to social isolation, cerebral atrophy and cognitive overload, and collectively people with untreated hearing loss may be up to five times more likely to see cognitive decline. According to Dr. Anil Lalwani of Columbia University, “…using a hearing aid may provide a simple, yet important, way to protect or slow the development of dementia…”

It is true, unfortunately, that there are many hearing aids sitting in junk drawers around the country. There are a variety of reasons why someone may give up on their hearing aids. They may have technology that was not appropriate for their hearing loss or lifestyle, they may have waited so long to seek treatment that amount of needed amplification is difficult to adapt to or they may just not have been ready to commit to wearing them. Correcting hearing loss is a process, and some people have more challenges than others, but Dennison Hearing Solutions is committed to working with you to make the process as easy as possible and that your hearing aids become a part of you that you can’t imagine going without. Improvements in hearing aid technology are also making this process easier all the time with satisfaction surveys across all manufacturers scoring higher than ever.

The FDA recently created a new segment of hearing aid available over the counter. The thinking behind this push was to create a hearing solution similar to reading glasses. We strongly believe that this thinking is severely misguided. Hearing is a complex process and we feel you will have a better overall experience if you complete a comprehensive hearing evaluation (which also looks for underlying medical issues that may need to be addressed) and wear hearing instruments expertly programed for your specific needs. That being said, OTC hearing aids may be appropriate for a small segment of people in the earliest stages of hearing loss. Unfortunately, the market has very little oversight and there are a lot of products being marketed as hearing aids that in years past were available as personal sound amplifiers. These amplifiers are not nearly as sophisticated as hearing aids and will not provide the patient the improvement they’re looking for. Bottom line, if you feel like you have hearing loss, you owe it to yourself to begin with a comprehensive hearing test to make sure you know the best way to address any issues you may be having. And if an OTC hearing aid is appropriate, we do have them available in addition to our many prescriptive options.

There are many fine hearing care providers around metro Atlanta, but what we believe puts us above them all is our commitment to the patient experience, and we believe our many five-star reviews back that up. Our founder, William Dennison, is a second-generation hearing health provider and has witnessed some troubling changes within the industry, which led to our formation. When Mr. Dennison first entered the field, the needs of the patient were paramount, and he was in a practice that always did everything they could to keep the patient hearing as well as possible. That practice was eventually taken over by a major hearing aid manufacturer, and selling their product became the primary focus, regardless of what was in the best interest of the patient. Dennison believes that there is still a place for an independent, honest hearing care provider that will take the time to help you understand what you’re going through and will work with you to find the best path forward.

Yes, probably. Dennison Hearing Solutions is an in-network provider for Anthem/Blue Cress & Blue Shield, Aetna and United Healthcare. Some insurance plans also offer hearing aid discounts through third party managed care providers, many of which we are also happy to work with. If you have a specific question about your insurance benefit, we’re happy to reach out to your provider to find out the details of any benefits you may have.