It just feels good to save money, right? Getting a good deal can be invigorating, and more gratifying the better the bargain. It’s a little too easy, then, to make the price your chief criteria, to always choose the least expensive option, to let your coupons make your buying choices for you. When it comes to investing in a pair of hearing aids, going after a bargain can be a huge mistake.
Health consequences can result from choosing the cheapest option if you need hearing aids to treat hearing loss. Avoiding the development of health problems such as depression, dementia, and the risk of a fall is the entire point of using hearing aids after all. The key is to find the hearing aid that best fits your lifestyle, your hearing requirements, and your budget.
Tips for finding 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 most ideal hearing aid possible for your individual budget. These tips will help.
You can find affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aid’s reputation for being very pricey is not necessarily 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 variety of prices. If you’ve already made the decision that the most reliable hearing aids are out of reach, you’re probably more likely to search the bargain bin than seek out affordable and effective 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
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. It never hurts to ask. There are government programs that frequently provide hearing aids for veterans.
Tip #3: Your hearing loss is unique – choose hearing aids that can tune to your hearing situation
In some ways, your hearing aids are similar to prescription glasses. Depending on your sense of fashion, the frame comes in a few options, but the exact prescription differs significantly from person to person. Hearing aids, too, have distinct settings, which we can tune for you, tailored 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 amplification devices increase all frequencies instead of boosting only the frequencies you’re having a hard time hearing. Why is this so significant? Normally, hearing loss will only affect some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly. If you make it loud enough to hear the frequencies that are too quiet, you’ll make it uncomfortable in the frequencies you can hear without a device. You will most likely end up not using this cheap amplification device because it doesn’t resolve your real issue.
Tip #4: Different hearing aids have different functions
It can be tempting to believe that all of the modern technology in a quality hearing aid is just “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 most likely need some of that technology. Hearing aids have innovative technologies calibrated specifically for those who have hearing loss. Many modern designs have artificial intelligence that helps block out background noise or connect with each other to help you hear better. Also, choosing a model that fits your lifestyle will be simpler if you take into account where (and why) you’ll be using your hearing aids.
It’s essential, in order to compensate for your hearing loss in a reliable way, that you have some of this technology. Hearing aids are a lot more advanced than a basic, tiny speaker that boosts the volume of everything. Which brings up our last tip.
Tip #5: An amplification device isn’t the same thing as a hearing aid
Alright, say this with me: a hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid. This is the most important takeaway from this article. Because the manufacturers of amplification devices have a financial interest in persuading the consumer that their devices do what hearing aids do. But that simply isn’t true.
Let’s have a closer look. A hearing amplification device:
- Turns the volume up on all sounds.
- Is often cheaply built.
- Provides the user with little more than basic volume controls (if that).
Conversely, a hearing aid:
- Has highly skilled specialists that adjust your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Can be programed to identify distinct sound profiles, such as the human voice, and amplify them.
- Will help you preserve the health of your hearing.
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Can create maximum comfort by being molded to your ear.
- Has the ability to change settings when you change locations.
- Can regulate background noise.
- Is calibrated to amplify only the frequencies you have trouble hearing.
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
Regardless of what your budget is, that budget will restrict your options depending on your general 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.”