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Everybody is different, and hearing is no different. Everybody's hearing is different, and so sometimes the standard hearing aids won't provide you the sort of performance that you require, and so you might want to look at some custom hearing devices.

Custom hearing aids will normally cost a little more than the regular hearing aids, however this is understandable as they are tailor made for you. It's important to find a hearing aid that works best for you, despite the price.

There are some common settings that can be customised on hearing aids:

-Adjust the equaliser

Most people start to notice hearing loss affecting only certain frequencies, this is normally only the higher frequencies. They may start to be unable to hear high pitch sounds, you can buy a specific hearing aid to boost whichever specific frequency the patient is having a trouble with.

You should go to see your audiologist as they can help you to adjust the hearing aid so you can hear better. Digital hearing aids have the advantage of having an EQ (equaliser) function much like your home stereo.

- Different Presets

A number of popular hearing aids have the ability to set a number of different programs. These programs can be selected when you enter different environments, one flick of a switch can completely change how your hearing aid works.

When you go to a noisy environment, you can flip the switch to customise the settings for that specific environment. When you go to a quiet place you can select another program to customise the settings further. This function is very useful as it is more user friendly than simply adjusting the volume.

- Dual Microphones

Modern digital hearing aids have a great new feature of using two microphones. One microphone is capable of amplifying what is really in front of the user, while the other microphone is able to pick up sounds from all around.

The different microphones can be selected, which makes it ideal for reducing any background noise, allowing you to listen to the person in front of you.

- Noise Reduction

New hearing aids have a noise reduction feature which is similar to the one on your stereo. These have a computer chip built into the hearing aid which is designed to analyze the sound and cut out certain frequencies of sound.

Quite often hearing aids can cause feedback, this often sounds like buzzing, or a whistling noise. If you hear feedback, you would have to turn down the volume until the feedback is reduced. However the noise reduction chip is able to remove feedback without having to turn down the volume.

- Telecoils

Telecoils are designed to make phone conversations for people with hearing difficulties much easier. Switching a switch changes the device to use the telecoil, this cuts out the background noise completely so you can concentrate completely on the telephone.

This feature doesn't work with all telephones, it's important to check whether or not yours is compatible before considering purchasing a telecoil hearing aid. Check out http://www.firsthearingaids.com which is a comprehensive resource for people suffering from hearing loss to get information on hearing aid options, prices and maintenance.

You should talk to your audiologist to decide exactly which extra custom features are suitable for you, some of these features may be great for you, others may not be so useful and so may be a waste of money.