It just feels great to find a bargain, right? Getting a good deal can be exhilarating, and more gratifying the bigger the deal. So letting your coupon make your buying decisions for you, always chasing after the least expensive items, is all too easy. But going after a bargain when it comes to purchasing hearing aids can be a big oversight.
Health consequences can result from going for the cheapest option if you require hearing aids to treat hearing loss. After all, the entire point of getting hearing aids is to be able to hear clearly and to prevent health issues related to hearing loss such as mental decline, depression, and an increased chance of falls. Finding the correct hearing aid to fit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the key.
Choosing affordable hearing aids – some tips
Cheap and affordable aren’t always the same thing. Keep an eye on affordability as well as functionality. This will help you keep within your budget while enabling you to get the correct hearing aids for your personal requirements and budget. These are helpful tips.
Tip #1: Do your homework: Affordable hearing aids are available
Hearing aid’s reputation for being incredibly expensive is not necessarily reflected in the reality of the situation. The majority of manufacturers sell hearing aids in a broad range of price points and work with financing companies to make their devices more budget friendly. If you’ve started exploring the bargain bin for hearing aids because you’ve already resolved that really good effective models are too expensive, it could have significant health consequences.
Tip #2: Ask what’s covered
Insurance might cover some or all of the costs related to getting a hearing aid. In fact, some states require that insurance cover them for both children and adults. It never hurts to ask. If you’re a veteran, you may be eligible for hearing aids through government programs.
Tip #3: Your hearing loss is unique – choose hearing aids that can calibrate to your hearing situation
In some ways, your hearing aids are similar to prescription glasses. Depending on your sense of style, the frame comes in a few choices, but the exact prescription differs greatly from person to person. Hearing aids, too, have specific settings, which we can calibrate for you, personalized to your precise needs.
Buying a cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf is not going to give you the same results (or, in many instances, results that are even slightly helpful). These amplification devices increase all frequencies instead of boosting only the frequencies you’re having a hard time hearing. Why is this so significant? Usually, hearing loss will only affect some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly fine. If you make it loud enough to hear the frequencies that are too quiet, you’ll make it uncomfortable in the frequencies you can hear without amplification. Simply put, it doesn’t really solve the problem and you’ll wind up not using the cheaper device.
Tip #4: Not all hearing aids have the same features
It can be tempting to believe that all of the modern technology in a good hearing aid is just “bells and whistles”. But you will need some of that technology to hear sounds properly. Hearing aids have innovative technologies calibrated specifically for people who have hearing loss. Many modern designs have artificial intelligence that helps filter out background noise or connect with each other to help you hear better. Also, choosing a model that fits your lifestyle will be easier 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. A tiny speaker that turns the volume up on everything is far from the sophistication of a modern hearing aid. And that brings us to our last tip.
Tip #5: An amplification device isn’t the same thing as a hearing aid
Alright, say this with me: A hearing aid is not the same thing as a hearing amplification device. If you get nothing else from this article, we hope it’s that. Because the makers of amplification devices have a monetary interest in persuading the consumer that their devices do what hearing aids do. But that just isn’t the case.
Let’s have a closer look. A hearing amplification device:
- Turns up the volume on all sounds.
- Is typically made cheaply.
- Gives the user the ability to adjust the basic volume but that’s about all.
Conversely, a hearing aid:
- Can be programmed with different settings for different places.
- Is calibrated to amplify only the frequencies you have difficulty hearing.
- Can be molded specifically to your ears for maximum comfort.
- Can reduce background noise.
- Has highly qualified specialists that program your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Can be programed to recognize distinct sound profiles, such as the human voice, and amplify them.
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Will help you preserve the health of your hearing.
Your ability to hear is too important to go cheap
Everybody has a budget, and that budget is going to limit your hearing aid options no matter what price range you’re looking in.
That’s why we tend to highlight the affordable part of this. The long-term benefits of hearing aids and hearing loss treatment are well recognized. That’s why you need to work on an affordable solution. Just remember that your hearing deserves better than “cheap.”