It just feels great to save money, right? Getting a great deal can be thrilling, and more gratifying the bigger the bargain. It’s a little too easy, then, to make the price your chief consideration, to always choose the least expensive option, to let your coupons make your buying choices for you. But chasing a bargain when it comes to buying hearing aids can be a big mistake.
If you require hearing aids to treat hearing loss, choosing the “cheapest” option can have health consequences. After all, the entire point of using hearing aids is to be able to hear well and to prevent health problems related to hearing loss like mental decline, depression, and an increased chance of falls. Finding the correct hearing aid to suit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the key.
Picking affordable hearing aids – some tips
Affordable is not the same thing as cheap. Keep an eye on affordability and functionality. This will help you stay within your budget while allowing you to get the correct hearing aids for your personal requirements and budget. These are helpful tips.
You can obtain affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aids have a reputation for taking a toll on your pocketbook, a reputation, however, is not necessarily represented by reality. Most manufacturers produce hearing aids in a number of price points and work with financing companies to make their devices more affordable. If you’ve already decided that the most reliable hearing aids are too expensive, you’re probably more likely to search the bargain bin than look for affordable and effective options, and that can have a lasting, detrimental impact on your hearing and overall health.
Tip #2: Find out what your insurance will cover
Some or even all of the expense of hearing aids might be covered by your insurance. In fact, some states mandate that insurance cover them for both children and adults. Asking never hurts. If you’re a veteran, you might be eligible for hearing aids through government programs.
Tip #3: Your hearing loss is unique – choose hearing aids that can tune to your hearing needs
In some aspects, your hearing aids are a lot like prescription glasses. The frame is rather universal (depending on your sense of style, of course), but the prescription is adjusted for your particular needs. Similarly, hearing aids may look the same cosmetically, but each hearing aid is calibrated to the individual user’s hearing loss needs.
Picking up a cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf is not going to give you the same results (or any helpful results at all in many cases). These amplification devices increase all frequencies rather than raising only the frequencies you’re having a hard time hearing. What’s the importance of this? Normally, hearing loss will only affect some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly fine. If you raise the volume enough to hear the frequencies that are too quiet, you’ll make it painful in the frequencies you can hear without amplification. You will probably end up not using this cheap amplification device because it doesn’t solve your real problem.
Tip #4: Different hearing aids have different capabilities
It can be tempting to think that all of the modern technology in a good hearing aid is simply “bells and whistles”. But you will need some of that technology to hear sounds clearly. Hearing aids have innovative technologies calibrated specifically for those who have hearing loss. Background sound can be blocked out with many of these modern models and some can communicate with each other. In addition, taking into account where (and why) you’ll be using your aids will help you select a model that fits your lifestyle.
It’s essential, in order to compensate for your hearing loss in an efficient way, that you have some of this technology. Hearing aids are much more sophisticated than a simple, tiny speaker that boosts the volume of everything. Which brings up our last tip.
Tip #5: An amplification device is not the same thing as a hearing aid
Alright, say this with 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 just isn’t true.
Let’s break it down. A hearing amplification device:
- Takes all sounds and makes them louder.
- Gives the user the ability to adjust the basic volume but that’s about it.
- Is usually made cheaply.
A hearing aid, however:
- Will help protect your hearing health.
- Has long-lasting batteries.
- Is set up specifically to your hearing loss symptoms by a highly skilled hearing professional.
- Is calibrated to amplify only the frequencies you have trouble hearing.
- Can be programmed with various settings for different locations.
- Can minimize background noise.
- Can pick out and amplify specific sound types (such as the human voice).
- Can create maximum comfort by being shaped to your ear.
Your ability to hear is too important to go cheap
Regardless of what your budget is, that budget will restrict your options depending on your overall price range.
That’s why we normally highlight the affordable part of this. When it comes to hearing loss, the long term advantages of hearing loss treatment and hearing aids is well recognized. That’s why you should focus on an affordable solution. Just remember that your hearing deserves better than “cheap.”