Finding a bargain just feels good, right? It can be exhilarating when you’ve received a good deal on something, and the larger discount, the more pleased you are. So letting your coupon make your buying choices for you, always going after 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 big mistake.
Health repercussions can result from choosing the cheapest option if you require hearing aids to treat hearing loss. After all, the entire point of getting hearing aids is to be able to hear well and to prevent health problems associated with hearing loss like mental decline, depression, and an increased chance of falls. The trick is to find the hearing aid that best suits your lifestyle, your hearing requirements, and your budget.
Picking affordable hearing aids – some tips
Affordable is not equivalent cheap. Affordability, as well as functionality, are what you should be keeping your eye on. This will help you stay within your budget while allowing you to get the correct hearing aids for your personal requirements and budget. These tips will help.
Tip #1: Research before you buy: Affordable hearing aids are available
Hearing aids have a reputation for taking a toll on your pocketbook, a reputation, though, is not always reflected by reality. Most manufacturers produce hearing aids in a number of price points and work with financing companies to make their devices more affordable. 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
Insurance may cover some or all of the expenses related to getting a hearing aid. Actually, some states mandate that insurance cover them for both kids and adults. It never hurts to ask. If you’re a veteran, you may be eligible for hearing aids through government programs.
Tip #3: Your hearing loss is unique – find hearing aids that can tune to your hearing needs
In some ways, your hearing aids are similar to prescription glasses. The frame is rather universal (depending on your sense of style, of course), but the prescription is calibrated for your specific needs. Similarly, hearing aids may look the same cosmetically, but each hearing aid is tuned to the individual user’s hearing loss needs.
You’re not going to get the same results by grabbing some cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf (or, in many instances, results that are even slightly useful). These amplification devices increase all frequencies rather than raising only the frequencies you’re having trouble with. What’s the importance of this? Usually, hearing loss will only impact some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly fine. If you increase all frequencies, the ones you have no trouble hearing will be too loud. In other words, it doesn’t actually 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 great technology in modern hearing aids and think that it’s all extra, just bells and whistles. The problem with this idea 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 tuned in to the user’s level of hearing loss. Background noise can be filtered out with many of these modern models and some can connect with each other. 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.
It’s crucial, in order to compensate for your hearing loss in an efficient way, that you have some of this technology. A tiny speaker that turns the volume up on everything is far from the sophistication of a modern hearing aid. Which brings us to our last tip.
Tip #5: A hearing amplification device isn’t 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 convincing the consumer that their devices work like hearing aids. But that’s dishonest marketing.
Let’s break it down. An amplifier:
- Is typically cheaply built.
- Gives the user the ability to control the basic volume but that’s about all.
- Takes all sounds and turns up their volume.
Conversely, a hearing aid:
- Can regulate background noise.
- Can create maximum comfort by being molded to your ear.
- Has highly qualified professionals that adjust your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Boosts the frequencies that you have a tough time hearing and leaves the frequencies you can hear alone.
- Can pick out and amplify specific sound categories (like the human voice).
- Has long-lasting batteries.
- Can be programmed with different settings for different places.
- Will help safeguard your hearing health.
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
Regardless of what your budget is, that budget will restrict your options depending on your overall price range.
That’s why we often highlight the affordable part of this. When it comes to hearing loss, the long term benefits of hearing loss management and hearing aids is well documented. That’s why you need to work on an affordable solution. Just remember that your hearing deserves better than “cheap.”