ORANGE PARK – Hearing aids have come a long way from the bulky, sometimes ill-fitting devices that dominated the market not so long ago.

NextGen Hearing on Park Avenue is providing high-tech, personalized testing, fitting and maintenance of hearing aid equipment.

“We have been here since November,” said Jennifer Davis, Senior Patient Care Coordinator. “We specialize in hearing aids and doing hearing tests. We do next-generation hearing instruments.”

Hearing aid technology, like most other device types, is continually advancing. These instruments have gotten smaller, better fitting and contain higher-level technology than ever before. Many of the devices now have Bluetooth connectivity, which connects to a patient’s mobile phone, allows for answering phone calls and listening to media, as well as the traditional functions of simply bettering the ability of the patient to hear. These hearing aids also come with an app which is installed on the phone to make user-level adjustments better.

“There’s a hearing aid out right now that translates I believe 24 different languages into your ear,” said Davis. “Obviously, there’s a slight delay; a seven to ten-second delay. There’s a lot of technology. I would say, every few months, there’s always something bigger and better.”

“I’ve been with these guys a few months,” said Randy Massey, a hearing aid specialist who has been in the business for 20 years. “We’ve got a set way that we deal with patients; we take them through that and find out what it does take to help them.”

NextGen conducts the tests to identify exactly what a patient needs after being told how hearing issues are affecting their lifestyle. Surprisingly, many of the patients are less concerned with the technological advancements of the equipment than its functionality.

“They don’t have much to say, other than the fact of what they need,” Massey says of patient feedback. “Most people that walk through that door, it hasn’t changed since I started 20 years ago. All they want to do is hear.”

Massey says that younger people and baby boomers are happier with the new technology in the equipment than their senior counterparts among the hearing impaired. “I think you’re going to find that some of the younger ones that are hearing impaired are going to work the technology a little bit more. But again, the simplicity is just the help. That’s the name of the game in this business. Find out what they gotta do to hear better.”