It just feels good to find a bargain, right? Getting a great deal can be invigorating, and more rewarding the bigger the deal. So letting your coupon make your shopping choices for you, always chasing after the least expensive items, is all too easy. When it comes to purchasing a pair of hearing aids, chasing a bargain can be a big oversight.
If you need hearing aids to manage hearing loss, choosing the “cheapest” option can have health consequences. After all, the entire point of using 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. Choosing the correct hearing aid to fit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the key.
Choosing affordable hearing aids – some tips
Affordable is not equivalent cheap. Affordability, as well as functionality, are what you should be looking for. That will help you find the most ideal hearing aid possible for your individual budget. These are helpful tips.
Tip #1: Research before you buy: Affordable hearing aids are available
Hearing aids have a reputation for putting a dent in your wallet, a reputation, though, is not always reflected by reality. The majority of manufacturers produce hearing aids in a number of price points and work with financing companies to make their devices more budget friendly. If you’ve started exploring the bargain bin for hearing aids because you’ve already decided that really good effective models are out of reach, it could have serious health consequences.
Tip #2: Find out what your insurance will cover
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 might be eligible for hearing aids through government programs.
Tip #3: Your hearing loss is unique – choose hearing aids that can tune to your hearing needs
Hearing aids are, in some ways, similar to prescription glasses. The frame is rather universal (depending on your sense of fashion, of course), but the prescription is adjusted for your specific needs. Hearing aids, too, have distinct settings, which we can tune for you, personalized to your exact needs.
You’re not going to get the same results by grabbing some cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf (or, in many cases, results that are even slightly useful). These amplification devices boost all frequencies instead of raising only the frequencies you’re having trouble with. Why is this so significant? Usually, hearing loss will only affect some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly fine. If you raise the volume enough to hear the frequencies that are low, you’ll make it uncomfortable in the frequencies you can hear without amplification. You will probably end up not using this cheap amplification device because it doesn’t resolve your real problem.
Tip #4: Different hearing aids have different functions
There’s a tendency to look at all of the amazing 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. Hearing aids have innovative technologies tuned specifically for people with hearing loss. Many modern models have artificial intelligence that helps block out background noise or communicate with each other to help you hear better. In addition, thinking about where (and why) you’ll be using your aids will help you decide on a model that fits your lifestyle.
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 cranks 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 isn’t a hearing aid
Alright, repeat after me: a hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid. If you take nothing else away from this article, we hope it’s that. Because hearing amplification devices try very hard to make you believe they work the same way as a hearing aid for a fraction of the cost. But that’s untruthful marketing.
Let’s break it down. A hearing amplification device:
- Gives the user the ability to adjust the basic volume but that’s about all.
- Takes all sounds and makes them louder.
- Is often cheaply built.
Conversely, a hearing aid:
- Can be programmed with various settings for different locations.
- Will help safeguard your hearing health.
- Has long-lasting batteries.
- Can minimize background noise.
- Is adjusted specifically to your hearing loss symptoms by a highly qualified hearing specialist.
- Can create maximum comfort by being shaped to your ear.
- Boosts the frequencies that you have a hard time hearing and leaves the frequencies you can hear alone.
- Can identify and boost specific sound types (like the human voice).
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
Everybody has a budget, and that budget is going to restrict your hearing aid choices no matter what price range you’re looking in.
This is why an affordable solution tends to be the focus. When it comes to hearing loss, the long term benefits of hearing loss treatment and hearing aids is well recognized. That’s why you need to concentrate on an affordable solution. Just remember that your hearing deserves better than “cheap.”