Finding a bargain just feels good, right? Getting a good deal can be exhilarating, and more gratifying the better the deal. So letting your coupon make your buying decisions for you, always going after the least expensive items, is all too easy. When it comes to purchasing a pair of hearing aids, going after a bargain can be a huge oversight.
Health consequences can result from going for the cheapest option if you need hearing aids to manage hearing loss. Avoiding the development of health problems like depression, dementia, and the danger of a fall is the whole point of using hearing aids in the first place. Finding the correct hearing aid to suit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the trick.
Tips for picking affordable hearing aids
Affordable is not the same thing as cheap. Keep an eye on affordability and functionality. This will help you stay within your budget while allowing you to find the ideal hearing aids for your personal requirements and budget. These tips will help.
Tip #1: You can obtain affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aids have a reputation for taking a toll on your wallet, a reputation, though, is not always represented by reality. The majority of manufacturers produce hearing aids in a wide range 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 resolved that really good effective models are out of reach, it could have serious health repercussions.
Tip #2: Ask what’s covered
Insurance may cover some or all of the expenses associated with getting a hearing aid. Some states, in fact, have laws mandating insurance companies to cover hearing aids for children or adults. Asking never hurts. 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 calibrate to your hearing needs
Hearing aids are, in some aspects, similar to prescription glasses. The frame is fairly universal (depending on your sense of fashion, of course), but the prescription is adjusted for your particular needs. Hearing aids, too, have specific settings, which we can calibrate for you, personalized to your precise needs.
Picking up a cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf is not going to give you the same benefits (or any useful results at all in many cases). These are more like amplification devices that raise the sound of all frequencies, not only the ones you’re having difficulty hearing. What’s the importance of this? Hearing loss is often uneven, you can hear certain frequencies and sounds, but not others. If you make it loud enough to hear the frequencies that are low, you’ll make it uncomfortable in the frequencies you can hear without amplification. You will most likely end up not using this cheap amplification device because it doesn’t solve your real problem.
Tip #4: Different hearing aids have different functions
It can be tempting to think that all of the modern technology in a good hearing aid is simply “bells and whistles”. But you will need some of that technology to hear sounds clearly. Hearing aids have innovative technologies calibrated specifically for those who have hearing loss. Background noise can be filtered out with many of these modern designs and some can connect with each other. Additionally, considering where (and why) you’ll be using your aids will help you choose a model that fits your lifestyle.
That technology is necessary to compensate for your hearing loss in a healthy way. Hearing aids are much more advanced than a basic, tiny speaker that boosts the volume of everything. 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. This is the most important takeaway from this article. Because hearing amplification devices try really hard to make you think they do the same thing as a hearing aid for a fraction of the cost. But that just isn’t true.
Let’s take a closer look. An amplifier:
- Turns up the volume on all sounds.
- Supplies the user with little more than basic volume controls (if that).
- Is usually made cheaply.
A hearing aid, conversely:
- Can regulate background noise.
- Can be programmed with various settings for different places.
- Has long-lasting batteries.
- Can create maximum comfort by being molded to your ear.
- Has highly qualified specialists that adjust your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Can be programed to identify distinct sound profiles, like the human voice, and amplify them.
- Boosts the frequencies that you have a hard time hearing and leaves the frequencies you can hear alone.
- Will help you safeguard the health of your hearing.
Your ability to hear is too crucial to go cheap
Regardless of what your budget is, that budget will restrict your options depending on your overall price range.
That’s why we often emphasize the affordable part of this. The long-term advantages of hearing aids and hearing loss treatment are well recognized. That’s why you need to concentrate on an affordable solution. Just remember that your hearing deserves better than “cheap.”