It just feels good to save money, right? It can be invigorating when you’ve received a great deal on something, and the bigger discount, the more pleased you are. So letting your coupon make your buying choices for you, always looking for the least expensive items, is all too easy. When it comes to purchasing a pair of hearing aids, going after a bargain can be a big mistake.
Health repercussions can result from choosing the cheapest option if you need hearing aids to manage hearing loss. After all, the entire point of getting hearing aids is to be able to hear clearly and to prevent health issues associated with hearing loss such as cognitive decline, depression, and an increased risk of falls. The key is to find the hearing aid that best fits your lifestyle, your hearing needs, and your budget.
Tips for picking affordable hearing aids
Affordable is not equivalent cheap. Look for affordability as well as functionality. This will help you keep within your budget while allowing you to find the correct hearing aids for your personal requirements and budget. These tips will help.
You can find affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aids have a reputation for putting a dent in your wallet, a reputation, however, is not necessarily represented by reality. Most hearing aid manufacturers will partner with financing companies to make the device more affordable and also have hearing aids in a variety of prices. If you’ve started exploring the bargain bin for hearing aids because you’ve already decided that really good effective models are too expensive, it could have significant health consequences.
Tip #2: Ask what’s covered
Some or even all of the expense of hearing aids could be covered by your insurance. Actually, some states mandate that insurance cover them for both kids and adults. It never hurts to ask. There are government programs that frequently provide hearing aids for veterans.
Tip #3: Find hearing aids that can be calibrated to your hearing loss
Hearing aids are, in some ways, a lot like prescription glasses. The frame is rather universal (depending on your sense of fashion, of course), but the prescription is calibrated for your distinct needs. Similarly, hearing aids may look the same cosmetically, but each hearing aid is tuned to the individual user’s hearing loss needs.
Buying a cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf is not going to give you the same benefits (or any helpful results at all in many cases). These are more like amplification devices that raise the volume of all frequencies, not just the ones you’re having problems hearing. What’s the significance of this? Usually, hearing loss will only affect some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly. If you boost all frequencies, the ones you have no trouble hearing will be too loud. You will probably end up not using this cheap amplification device because it doesn’t resolve your real problem.
Tip #4: Different hearing aids have different functions
It can be tempting to believe that all of the modern technology in a quality hearing aid is just “bells and whistles”. But you will need some of that technology to hear sounds clearly. The sophisticated technology in hearing aids can be dialed in to the user’s level of hearing loss. Many modern designs have artificial intelligence that helps block out background noise or connect with each other to help you hear better. Also, selecting a model that fits your lifestyle will be simpler if you factor in where (and why) you’ll be using your hearing aids.
That technology is necessary to compensate for your hearing loss in a healthy way. Hearing aids are a lot more sophisticated than a simple, tiny speaker that amplifies everything. Which brings up our last tip.
Tip #5: A hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid
Alright, repeat after me: a hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid. This is the number one takeaway from this article. Because hearing amplification devices try very hard to make you think they do the same thing as a hearing aid for a fraction of the price. But that’s untruthful marketing.
Let’s have a closer look. An amplifier:
- Is typically built cheaply.
- Gives the user the ability to adjust the basic volume but that’s about it.
- Turns the volume up on all sounds.
A hearing aid, however:
- Can be programmed with different settings for different locations.
- Has highly qualified professionals that adjust your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Can limit background noise.
- Can pick out and amplify specific sound types (like the human voice).
- Will help you maintain the health of your hearing.
- Can achieve maximum comfort by being molded to your ear.
- Is calibrated to amplify only the frequencies you have a hard time hearing.
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
Everyone has a budget, and that budget is going to restrict your hearing aid choices regardless of what price range you’re looking in.
This is why an affordable solution tends to be the emphasis. When it comes to hearing loss, the long term benefits of hearing loss treatment and hearing aids is well documented. This is why an affordable solution is what your focus should be. Don’t forget, cheap is less than your hearing deserves.”