Cynthia Henderson uses her birding app while walking near her home in Antigonish, N.S.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
Cynthia Henderson didn’t realize how bad her hearing had gotten until one day seven years ago at her Nova Scotia cottage. The windows were wide open, and her daughter wanted to know what bird was singing outside. Henderson, then 65, could usually identify birds by their song; this time, she could not hear the bird at all.
“My loss is in the higher range,” Henderson says. “I can hear low sounds, but not high sounds. So I had to agree to have my hearing tested, and I didn’t do too well.”
An audiologist fitted Henderson for hearing aids. She bought the German brand Signia, which cost $3,400 for the pair (her insurance covered $1,200). People have commented on the expense, she says, but without the hearing aids, everything is horribly muffled. She looks at the cost as an investment over the six- or seven-year expected life cycle of the technology.
“It’s between $1 and $2 a day to be able to hear properly,” Henderson says.
When Henderson bought her hearing aids, they came with Bluetooth integration, which she enjoys. Phone calls and audio from any connected device are clear. But Henderson says she has struggled in loud environments when multiple conversations are happening.
It’s an issue reported by many hearing aid users because a lot of current technology on the market doesn’t effectively filter out the specific conversation the user wants to hear. And while companies are leveraging new technology to improve the experience for customers who are hard of hearing, not all those options are accessible here in Canada.
A lack of over-the-counter options
Fortell, a U.S. brand, tackles the speech-in-noise problem with a custom AI chip. Using AI-powered, real-time “source separation,” Fortell claims 95 per cent of users tested understood speech more easily with their hearing aids. But the cost for the device is at the top end of products available, retailing directly to consumers for US$6,800 per pair.
Over-the-counter hearing aids have been allowed in the United States since 2022, and Apple AirPods Pro 2 are a much cheaper OTC option there – costing about US$200. (AirPods Pro 3 are more expensive.) Apple says it uses computational audio and machine learning to enhance speech clarity and balance environmental sounds. But most Canadians can’t access this option: Health Canada has approved the hearing aid features on the AirPods Pro 2, but so far only B.C. has passed legislation for OTC aids and so Apple has not enabled the features in Canada.
According to technology website iPhoneinCanada.ca, users in Canadian border towns have reported being able to activate the hearing aid features on their AirPods Pro 2 by picking up signals from U.S. cell towers. Or they’ve travelled to the U.S. to activate the features and then come back to Canada.
“There are so many potential barriers to getting hearing aids,” says Lorienne Jenstad, an audiologist and associate professor at the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences at the University of British Columbia, where she directs the Amplification Research Lab.
“I think people don’t know where to go to start the process,” she says. “I think they get a bit overwhelmed, and then certainly the price tag has implications.”
Stigma can also play a role. A 2024 review of studies published in the international academic journal Audiology Research found that the pervasive stigma associated with hearing aids – including the association of hearing aids with aging and incapacity – continues to be a significant barrier to their widespread adoption.
To combat barriers, Dr. Jenstad says her research is becoming more people-centered and less technology-centered. She’s working more with doctors and nurses so primary care providers start referring and encouraging more people to get their hearing tested. It doesn’t matter what researchers do in the lab to improve hearing aids if people aren’t walking through the doors of hearing clinics in the first place, she notes.
“I’m all on board with any cheaper solutions that get people at least trying and realizing, oh yeah, these are helping,” Dr. Jenstad says. “Maybe I do have hearing loss. Maybe I should see a professional.”
Henderson says she enjoys her hearing aids’ Bluetooth integration, but she can struggle in loud environments when multiple conversations are happening.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
‘Hearing better helps you think and live better’
Steve Aiken, an audiologist and associate professor in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Dalhousie University in Halifax, thinks most audiologists are happy to see OTC options becoming available as long as they work. He says there are also lower cost prescription hearing aids that audiologists can recommend after a proper hearing test. Dr. Aiken highlights that hearing loss is a treatable risk factor for dementia, cognitive decline, social isolation and falls.
“Hearing supports a healthy brain and it supports your life,” he says. “Hearing better helps you think and live better.”
As for Henderson, she’s currently shopping for a new pair of hearing aids because the batteries on hers no longer hold their charge. She says that some people in her life might not realize she’s been wearing hearing aids for years since they blend in with her hair. But she’s not shy about showing them or talking about them.
“There’s nothing wrong with losing some hearing,” she says. “There’s no stigma about having glasses, so why should there be a feeling that something’s wrong if you need hearing aids?”
