Finding a bargain just feels great, right? It can be invigorating when you’ve received a good deal on something, and the larger discount, the more satisfied you are. So letting your coupon make your shopping choices for you, always chasing after the least expensive products, is all too easy. But chasing a bargain when it comes to purchasing hearing aids can be a big mistake.
Health consequences can result from going for the cheapest option if you need hearing aids to manage hearing loss. Preventing the development of health problems such as depression, dementia, and the danger of a fall is the entire point of using hearing aids after all. The key is to find the hearing aid that best suits your lifestyle, your hearing requirements, and your budget.
Tips for finding affordable hearing aids
Affordable is not equivalent cheap. Keep an eye on affordability as well as functionality. That will help you get the best hearing aid possible for your individual budget. These tips will help.
Tip #1: Research before you buy: Affordable hearing aids exist
Hearing aid’s reputation for being extremely pricey is not always reflected in the reality of the situation. Most hearing aid manufacturers will partner with financing companies to make the device more affordable and also have hearing aids in a wide range of prices. If you’ve started searching the bargain bin for hearing aids because you’ve already resolved that really good effective models are out of reach, it could have significant health consequences.
Tip #2: Ask what’s covered
Some or even all of the cost of hearing aids may be covered by your insurance. Some states, in fact, have laws requiring insurance companies to cover hearing aids for kids or adults. Asking never hurts. If you’re a veteran, you might be eligible for hearing aids through government programs.
Tip #3: Find hearing aids that can be calibrated to your hearing loss
In some ways, your hearing aids are a lot like prescription glasses. The frame is fairly universal (depending on your sense of fashion, of course), but the prescription is adjusted for your distinct needs. Similarly, hearing aids might look alike cosmetically, but each hearing aid is calibrated to the individual user’s hearing loss needs.
Buying a cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf won’t give you the same results (or any helpful results at all in many cases). These are more like amplifiers that raise the sound of all frequencies, not only the ones you’re having trouble hearing. Why is this so important? Typically, hearing loss will only impact some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly fine. 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 a device. 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 think 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 specialized technology in hearing aids can be dialed in to the user’s level of hearing loss. Many modern models have artificial intelligence that helps block out background noise or communicate with each other to help you hear better. Also, choosing 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. A tiny speaker that turns the volume up on everything is far from the sophistication of a modern hearing aid. Which 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 number one takeaway from this article. Because hearing amplification devices try really hard to make you believe they do the same thing as a hearing aid for a fraction of the price. But that’s untruthful marketing.
Let’s break it down. A hearing amplification device:
- Turns up the volume on all sounds.
- Gives the user the ability to control the basic volume but that’s about all.
- Is usually built cheaply.
A hearing aid, however:
- Will help you preserve the health of your hearing.
- Can identify and boost specific sound categories (like the human voice).
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Is adjusted specifically to your hearing loss symptoms by a highly qualified hearing specialist.
- Can regulate background noise.
- Is calibrated to amplify only the frequencies you have a hard time hearing.
- Can create maximum comfort by being shaped to your ear.
- Has the capability to change settings when you change locations.
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
No matter what your budget is, that budget will restrict your options depending on your general price range.
This is why an affordable solution tends to be the emphasis. The long-term advantages of hearing aids and hearing loss management are well documented. That’s why you should focus on an affordable solution. Don’t forget, cheap is less than your hearing deserves.”