Finding a bargain just feels good, right? It can be exhilarating when you’ve found 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 products, is all too easy. But going after a bargain when it comes to buying hearing aids can be a big mistake.
Health repercussions can result from going for the cheapest option if you require hearing aids to treat hearing loss. Avoiding the development of health problems such as depression, dementia, and the risk of a fall is the entire point of using hearing aids in the first place. Finding the correct hearing aid to fit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the key.
Tips for choosing affordable hearing aids
Affordable is not the same thing as cheap. Affordability, as well as functionality, are what you should be looking for. That will help you get the best hearing aid possible for your individual budget. These tips will help.
You can get affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aids have a reputation for taking a toll on your pocketbook, a reputation, though, is not always represented by reality. Most hearing aid manufacturers will partner up with financing companies to make the device more budget friendly and also have hearing aids in a variety of prices. If you’ve already made the decision that the most effective hearing aids are out of reach, you’re probably more inclined to search the bargain bin than seek out affordable and effective options, and that can have a long-term, harmful impact on your hearing and overall health.
Tip #2: Find out what your insurance will cover
Insurance may 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. There are government programs that often provide hearing aids for veterans.
Tip #3: Find hearing aids that can be tuned to your hearing loss
Hearing aids are, in some ways, similar to prescription glasses. Depending on your sense of fashion, the frame comes in a few options, but the exact prescription differs greatly from person to person. Hearing aids, too, have specific settings, which we can calibrate for you, tailored to your exact needs.
Purchasing a cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf is not going to give you the same benefits (or, in many instances, results that are even remotely helpful). These are more like amplification devices that increase the volume of all frequencies, not only the ones you’re having difficulty hearing. What’s the significance of this? Normally, hearing loss will only impact some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly. If you make it loud enough to hear the frequencies that are low, you’ll make it painful 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: Different hearing aids have different capabilities
There’s a tendency to view all of the great technology in modern hearing aids and think that it’s all extra, simply bells and whistles. But you will need some of that technology to hear sounds clearly. 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 communicate with each other to help you hear better. Additionally, considering where (and why) you’ll be using your aids will help you select a model that fits your lifestyle.
That technology is essential 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. And that brings up our last tip.
Tip #5: An amplification device isn’t the same thing as a hearing aid
Alright, repeat after me: a hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid. This is the most important takeaway from this article. Because the manufacturers of amplification devices have a monetary interest in convincing the consumer that their devices do what hearing aids do. But that just isn’t true.
Let’s have a closer look. An amplifier:
- Turns the volume up on all sounds.
- Provides the user with little more than simple volume controls (if that).
- Is usually made cheaply.
On the other hand, a hearing aid:
- Can be programed to identify distinct sound profiles, like the human voice, and amplify them.
- Will help protect your hearing health.
- Boosts the frequencies that you have a tough time hearing and leaves the frequencies you can hear alone.
- Can create maximum comfort by being shaped to your ear.
- Has the ability to adjust settings when you change locations.
- Has highly skilled professionals that program your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Can minimize background noise.
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
No matter what your budget is, that budget will restrict your options depending on your general price range.
That’s why we tend to highlight the affordable part of this. When it comes to hearing loss, the long term benefits of hearing loss management and hearing aids is well recognized. This is why an affordable solution is what your focus should be. Just remember that your hearing deserves better than “cheap.”