It just feels good to find a bargain, right? It can be invigorating when you’ve received a good deal on something, and the larger discount, the more satisfied you are. So letting your coupon make your buying choices for you, always looking for the least expensive products, is all too easy. When it comes to investing in a pair of hearing aids, going after a bargain can be a big oversight.
Health repercussions can result from choosing the cheapest option if you require hearing aids to treat hearing loss. Avoiding the development of health issues such as depression, dementia, and the risk of a fall is the entire point of using hearing aids in the first place. Choosing the right hearing aid to fit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the key.
Tips for choosing affordable hearing aids
Cheap and affordable aren’t always the same thing. Affordability, and functionality, are what you should be looking for. That will help you get the most ideal hearing aid possible for your individual budget. These are helpful tips.
Tip #1: Research before you buy: Affordable hearing aids exist
Hearing aids have a reputation for taking a toll on your wallet, a reputation, though, is not necessarily reflected by reality. 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 started exploring the bargain bin for hearing aids because you’ve already resolved that really good effective models are out of reach, it could have serious health repercussions.
Tip #2: Find out what your insurance will cover
Insurance may cover some or all of the costs associated with getting a hearing aid. Some states, in fact, have laws requiring insurance companies to cover hearing aids for kids or adults. Asking never hurts. There are government programs that frequently provide hearing aids for veterans.
Tip #3: Find hearing aids that can be calibrated to your hearing loss
In some aspects, your hearing aids are similar to prescription glasses. Depending on your sense of style, the frame comes in a few options, but the exact prescription differs significantly from person to person. Hearing aids, too, have specific settings, which we can calibrate for you, personalized to your exact needs.
Purchasing a cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf is not going to give you the same results (or, in many cases, results that are even remotely useful). These amplification devices boost all frequencies rather than raising only the frequencies you’re having a hard time hearing. Why is this so significant? Usually, hearing loss will only impact some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly. If you raise all frequencies, the ones you have no problem hearing will be too loud. In other words, it doesn’t actually solve the problem and you’ll wind up not using the cheaper device.
Tip #4: Not all hearing aids have the same features
It can be tempting to believe that all of the modern technology in a good hearing aid is just “bells and whistles”. The problem is that in order to hear sounds clearly (sounds such as, you know, bells and whistles), you probably need some of that technology. The sophisticated technology in hearing aids can be dialed in to the user’s level of hearing loss. Many modern designs have artificial intelligence that helps block out background noise or communicate with each other to help you hear better. Also, choosing a model that fits your lifestyle will be easier if you consider where (and why) you’ll be using your hearing aids.
That technology is crucial to compensate for your hearing loss in a healthy way. Hearing aids are much more advanced than a basic, tiny speaker that amplifies everything. And that brings up our last tip.
Tip #5: An amplification device isn’t the same thing as a hearing aid
Okay, say this with me: A hearing aid is not the same thing as an amplification device. This is the number one takeaway from this article. Because the makers of amplification devices have a monetary interest in convincing the consumer that their devices do what hearing aids do. But that just isn’t the case.
Let’s break it down. A hearing amplification device:
- Is typically made cheaply.
- Gives the user the ability to control the basic volume but that’s about all.
- Turns up the volume on all sounds.
A hearing aid, however:
- Is set up specifically to your hearing loss symptoms by a highly qualified hearing specialist.
- Will help you maintain the health of your hearing.
- Can be programmed with various settings for different places.
- Has long-lasting batteries.
- Can create maximum comfort by being shaped to your ear.
- Is tuned to amplify only the frequencies you have difficulty hearing.
- Can limit background noise.
- Can be programed to identify distinct sound profiles, like the human voice, and amplify them.
Your ability to hear is too essential to go cheap
Everyone has a budget, and that budget is going to restrict your hearing aid choices regardless of what price range you’re looking in.
This is why an affordable solution tends to be the focus. The long-term benefits of hearing aids and hearing loss treatment are well recognized. That’s why you should focus on an affordable solution. Just remember that your hearing deserves better than “cheap.”