Finding a bargain just feels great, right? Getting a good deal can be invigorating, and more rewarding the better the deal. It’s a little too easy, then, to make the cost your primary consideration, to always go for the least expensive option, to let your coupons make your consumer decisions for you. When it comes to investing in a pair of hearing aids, going after a bargain can be a big mistake.
Health consequences can result from choosing the cheapest option if you require hearing aids to manage hearing loss. Preventing the development of health problems like depression, dementia, and the risk of a fall is the entire point of using hearing aids after all. Choosing the right hearing aid to fit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the trick.
Tips for choosing affordable hearing aids
Cheap and affordable aren’t necessarily the same thing. Look for affordability and functionality. This will help you stay 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: You can obtain affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aid’s reputation for being incredibly pricey is not necessarily reflected in the reality of the situation. 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 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 repercussions.
Tip #2: Ask what’s covered
Insurance may cover some or all of the costs related to getting a hearing aid. 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
Hearing aids are, in some ways, a lot like prescription glasses. Depending on your sense of fashion, the frame comes in a few choices, but the exact prescription differs considerably from person to person. Hearing aids, too, have distinct settings, which we can tune for you, tailored to your exact needs.
You’re not going to get the same benefits by grabbing some cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf (or, in many cases, results that are even remotely useful). These amplification devices increase all frequencies rather than raising only the frequencies you’re having a hard time hearing. Why is this so important? Typically, hearing loss will only affect some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly. If you increase 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: Different hearing aids have different functions
There’s a temptation 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 properly. The specialized technology in hearing aids can be tuned in to the user’s level of hearing loss. Background sound can be filtered out with many of these modern designs and some can connect with each other. In addition, thinking about where (and why) you’ll be using your aids will help you decide on 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 advanced than a basic, tiny speaker that amplifies everything. Which brings up our last tip.
Tip #5: A hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid
Alright, repeat after me: a hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid. 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 work like hearing aids. But that simply isn’t true.
Let’s take a closer look. A hearing amplification device:
- Takes all sounds and turns up their volume.
- Is typically cheaply built.
- Gives the user the ability to adjust the basic volume but that’s about it.
A hearing aid, on the other hand:
- Can identify and amplify specific sound types (such as the human voice).
- Increases the frequencies that you have a hard time hearing and leaves the frequencies you can hear alone.
- Has the capability to adjust settings when you change locations.
- Can create maximum comfort by being molded to your ear.
- Has long-lasting batteries.
- Is set up specifically to your hearing loss symptoms by a highly skilled hearing professional.
- Can reduce background noise.
- Will help safeguard your hearing health.
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
Regardless of what your budget is, that budget will determine your options depending on your overall price range.
This is why an affordable solution tends to be the focus. 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.”