It's a typical weekday morning and you're going through your daily wardrobe checklist before leaving the house.
If you're a guy, you may be pondering whether your tie, shirt and suit are in sync. If you're a woman, you're probably co-ordinating bag, shoes and jewellery.
And if you're one of the estimated 3.5 million Canadians affected by hearing loss, you may also be checking out your hearing aid - will it be the leopard print cover or the basic black?
With the launch of a new collection by Siemens, hearing devices have styled up. And like many other recent trends, this one is being driven by and targeted toward baby boomers.
"Each case of hearing loss is as different as the person affected," says Dr. Thomas Powers, vice-president of audiology and professional relations at Siemens Hearing Instruments, the Siemens Canada Ltd. division at the fore of this hearing-aid revolution. "The hearing aid today is doing so many things, enabling [people] to be better in their jobs, be more confident in themselves."
For techies, the company offers Tek, which allows wearers to communicate wirelessly with their cellphones, MP3 players, televisions and PCs.
For the style-conscious, there's Life, a line of small ergonomic devices in 10 skin and hair tones or six "fashion colours."
And for true showoffs, there's Vibe, "the first-ever device that fits securely in the crest of the ear" and boasts an array of snap-on covers, from leopard-print versions to others in bright colours and sleek metallic finishes.
Ranging from $1,000 to $6,000 per instrument, these new releases aren't among the cheapest devices, which typically cost up to $3,000 for a state-of-the-art digital model.
And sure, it's one more thing to co-ordinate in the morning, but who wouldn't want to look as good as they hear?
