Saving money just feels great, right? It can be thrilling when you’ve found a great deal on something, and the larger discount, the more satisfied you are. It’s a little too easy, then, to make the cost your main consideration, to always choose the least expensive option, to let your coupons make your buying decisions for you. When it comes to investing in a pair of hearing aids, going after a bargain can be a huge oversight.
If you require hearing aids to treat hearing loss, going for the “cheapest” option can have health repercussions. After all, the entire point of using hearing aids is to be able to hear well and to prevent health issues related to hearing loss including mental decline, depression, and an increased chance of falls. Choosing the right hearing aid to fit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the key.
Picking affordable hearing aids – some tips
Cheap and affordable aren’t necessarily the same thing. Affordability, and functionality, are what you should be looking for. That will help you find the most ideal hearing aid possible for your personal budget. These are helpful tips.
Tip #1: Research before you buy: Affordable hearing aids exist
Hearing aid’s reputation for being extremely pricey is not necessarily reflected in the reality of the situation. Most manufacturers sell hearing aids in a wide range 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 reliable options, and that can have a lasting, negative impact on your hearing and overall health.
Tip #2: Ask what’s covered
Some or even all of the cost of hearing aids might be covered by your insurance. Some states, in fact, have laws mandating insurance companies to cover hearing aids for children or adults. Asking never hurts. If you’re a veteran, you might be eligible for hearing aids through government programs.
Tip #3: Look for hearing aids that can be calibrated to your hearing loss
Hearing aids are, in some aspects, a lot like prescription glasses. The frame is fairly universal (depending on your sense of fashion, of course), but the prescription is calibrated for your distinct needs. Similarly, hearing aids might look the same cosmetically, but each hearing aid is calibrated to the individual user’s hearing loss needs.
Purchasing a cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf is not going to give you the same benefits (or any useful results at all in many instances). These amplification devices increase all frequencies rather than boosting only the frequencies you’re having trouble with. Why is this so important? Normally, hearing loss will only impact some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly. If you raise the volume 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 end up not using the cheaper device.
Tip #4: Different hearing aids have different capabilities
There’s a temptation to view all of the amazing technology in modern hearing aids and think that it’s all extra, just bells and whistles. The problem is that in order to hear sounds properly (sounds like, you know, bells and whistles), you most likely need some of that technology. The specialized technology in hearing aids can be dialed in to the user’s level of hearing loss. Background sound can be blocked out with many of these modern designs and some can communicate with each other. Also, selecting 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 crucial to compensate for your hearing loss in a healthy way. A little 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 is not the same thing as a hearing aid
Okay, repeat after me: A hearing aid is not the same thing as an 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’s untruthful marketing.
Let’s take a closer look. An amplifier:
- Takes all sounds and makes them louder.
- Is usually built cheaply.
- Gives the user the ability to adjust the basic volume but that’s about it.
A hearing aid, on the other hand:
- Has highly qualified professionals that adjust your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Will help safeguard your hearing health.
- Can be molded specifically to your ears for maximum comfort.
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Can regulate background noise.
- Can pick out and boost specific sound categories (like the human voice).
- Can be programmed with different settings for different locations.
- Boosts the frequencies that you have a hard time hearing and leaves the frequencies you can hear alone.
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
Everybody has a budget, and that budget is going to limit your hearing aid options regardless of what price range you’re looking in.
That’s why we tend to emphasize the affordable part of this. When it comes to hearing loss, the long term benefits of hearing loss treatment and hearing aids is well documented. That’s why you need to concentrate on an affordable solution. Don’t forget, cheap is less than your hearing deserves.”