Finding a bargain just feels good, right? Getting a good deal can be thrilling, and more gratifying the bigger the deal. So letting your coupon make your shopping decisions for you, always chasing after the least expensive items, is all too easy. When it comes to buying a pair of hearing aids, going after a bargain can be a big mistake.
Health repercussions can result from going for the cheapest option if you need hearing aids to treat hearing loss. After all, the whole point of getting hearing aids is to be able to hear well and to prevent health issues related to hearing loss such as mental decline, depression, and an increased chance of falls. Choosing the correct hearing aid to suit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the trick.
Tips for picking affordable hearing aids
Affordable is not equivalent 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.
Tip #1: Research before you buy: Affordable hearing aids are available
Hearing aid’s reputation for being incredibly expensive is not always reflected in the reality of the situation. Most hearing aid makers will partner with financing companies to make the device more budget friendly and also have hearing aids in a number of prices. If you’ve started exploring 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: Find out what your insurance will cover
Some or even all of the cost of hearing aids could be covered by your insurance. As a matter of fact, some states mandate 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: Look for hearing aids that can be tuned to your hearing loss
Hearing aids are, in some ways, similar to prescription glasses. The frame is pretty universal (depending on your sense of fashion, of course), but the prescription is calibrated for your distinct needs. Hearing aids, too, have specific settings, which we can tune for you, personalized to your precise needs.
You’re not going to get the same benefits by grabbing some cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf (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. What’s the significance of this? Hearing loss is often irregular, you can hear certain frequencies and sounds, but not others. If you raise all frequencies, the ones you have no problem hearing will be too loud. You will probably end up not using this cheap amplification device because it doesn’t solve your real problem.
Tip #4: Not all hearing aids do the same things
It can be tempting to believe that all of the modern technology in a good hearing aid is simply “bells and whistles”. The problem with this idea is that if you wish to hear sounds properly (sounds like, you know, bells and whistles), you likely need some of that technology. Hearing aids have innovative technologies tuned specifically for people with hearing loss. Many modern models have artificial intelligence that helps block out background noise or communicate with each other to help you hear better. In addition, taking into account where (and why) you’ll be using your aids will help you choose a model that fits your lifestyle.
That technology is crucial to compensate for your hearing loss in a healthy way. A tiny speaker that cranks the volume up on everything is far from the sophistication of a modern hearing aid. And that brings up our last tip.
Tip #5: An amplification device isn’t the same thing as a hearing aid
Okay, 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 cost. But that simply isn’t true.
Let’s have a closer look. A hearing amplification device:
- Is typically built cheaply.
- Turns up the volume on all sounds.
- Provides the user with little more than simple volume controls (if that).
A hearing aid, conversely:
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Can minimize background noise.
- Is calibrated to amplify only the frequencies you have difficulty hearing.
- Can achieve maximum comfort by being molded to your ear.
- Can identify and amplify specific sound categories (such as the human voice).
- Will help safeguard your hearing health.
- Has highly qualified specialists that program your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Has the capability to adjust settings when you change locations.
Your ability to hear is too crucial to go cheap
Everybody has a budget, and that budget is going to restrict your hearing aid options no matter 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 advantages of hearing loss treatment and hearing aids is well documented. That’s why you should focus on an affordable solution. Don’t forget, cheap is less than your hearing deserves.”
