It just feels good to find a bargain, right? Getting a good deal can be thrilling, and more rewarding the better the deal. So letting your coupon make your shopping choices for you, always looking for the least expensive items, is all too easy. When it comes to investing in a pair of hearing aids, going after a bargain can be a huge mistake.
Health repercussions can result from going for the cheapest option if you need hearing aids to manage hearing loss. After all, the whole point of using hearing aids is to be able to hear well and to prevent health problems associated with hearing loss such as mental decline, depression, and an increased chance of falls. Choosing the correct hearing aid to fit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the key.
Tips for choosing affordable hearing aids
Cheap and affordable aren’t necessarily the same thing. Affordability, and functionality, are what you should be looking for. This will help you keep within your budget while enabling you to find the correct hearing aids for your personal requirements and budget. These tips will help.
Tip #1: You can find affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aid’s reputation for being incredibly pricey is not necessarily reflected in the reality of the situation. The majority of 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 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 reliable options, and that can have a long-term, negative affect on your hearing and overall health.
Tip #2: Find out what your insurance will cover
Some or even all of the expense of hearing aids could be covered by your insurance. In fact, some states mandate 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: Your hearing loss is unique – choose hearing aids that can tune to your hearing situation
Hearing aids are, in some aspects, similar to prescription glasses. The frame is pretty universal (depending on your sense of style, of course), but the prescription is calibrated for your distinct needs. Similarly, hearing aids may look the same cosmetically, but each hearing aid is tuned to the individual user’s hearing loss needs.
You won’t get the same benefits by grabbing some cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf (or, in many instances, results that are even remotely useful). These are more like amplifiers that raise the sound of all frequencies, not just the ones you’re having difficulty hearing. Why is this so significant? Hearing loss is usually irregular, you can hear some frequencies and sounds, but not others. 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. 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 have the same features
There’s a tendency to view all of the great technology in modern hearing aids and imagine that it’s all extra, just bells and whistles. The problem is that if you wish to hear sounds properly (sounds such as, you know, bells and whistles), you probably need some of that technology. Hearing aids have innovative technologies tuned specifically for those 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. Also, choosing a model that fits your lifestyle will be simpler if you consider where (and why) you’ll be using your hearing aids.
It’s crucial, in order to compensate for your hearing loss in an efficient way, that you have some of this technology. A little 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: A hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid
Okay, repeat after me: A hearing aid is not the same thing as a hearing amplification device. If you get nothing else from this article, we hope it’s that. Because the providers of amplification devices have a monetary interest in convincing the consumer that their devices do what hearing aids do. But that’s untruthful marketing.
Let’s break it down. An amplifier:
- Is typically cheaply built.
- Turns the volume up on all sounds.
- Gives the user the ability to adjust the basic volume but that’s about all.
On the other hand, a hearing aid:
- Can limit background noise.
- Can be molded specifically to your ears for optimal comfort.
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Is calibrated to amplify only the frequencies you have difficulty hearing.
- Can be programed to identify distinct sound profiles, like the human voice, and amplify them.
- Has the ability to change settings when you change locations.
- Will help protect your hearing health.
- Is adjusted specifically to your hearing loss symptoms by a highly qualified hearing specialist.
Your ability to hear is too important to go cheap
Everyone has a budget, and that budget is going to limit your hearing aid choices regardless of what price range you’re looking in.
That’s why we normally emphasize the affordable part of this. The long-term benefits of hearing aids and hearing loss treatment are well recognized. This is why an affordable solution is where your attention should be. Just remember that your hearing deserves better than “cheap.”