Saving money just feels good, right? Getting a great deal can be thrilling, and more rewarding the bigger the deal. It’s a little too easy, then, to make the cost your chief consideration, to always choose the least expensive option, to let your coupons make your consumer choices for you. When it comes to purchasing a pair of hearing aids, chasing a bargain can be a big mistake.
If you need hearing aids to manage hearing loss, going for the “cheapest” option can have health repercussions. Preventing the development of health problems such as depression, dementia, and the danger of a fall is the entire point of using hearing aids after all. The key is to find the hearing aid that best suits your lifestyle, your hearing requirements, and your budget.
Picking affordable hearing aids – some tips
Cheap and affordable aren’t always the same thing. Affordability, and functionality, are what you should be keeping your eye on. 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.
You can obtain affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aid’s reputation for being extremely pricey is not necessarily reflected in the reality of the situation. The majority of manufacturers produce hearing aids in a broad range of price points and work with financing companies to make their devices more affordable. If you’ve already made the decision that the most effective hearing aids are out of reach, you’re probably more likely to search the bargain bin than look for affordable and effective options, and that can have a lasting, detrimental affect on your hearing and overall health.
Tip #2: Find out what your insurance will cover
Some or even all of the cost of hearing aids might be covered by your insurance. Some states, in fact, have laws requiring insurance companies to cover hearing aids for children or 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 – find hearing aids that can tune to your hearing needs
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 greatly from person to person. Similarly, hearing aids may look alike cosmetically, but each hearing aid is tuned to the individual user’s hearing loss needs.
You won’t get the same benefits by grabbing some cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf (or, in many instances, results that are even remotely helpful). These amplification devices increase 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 affect some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly. 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 issue.
Tip #4: Not all hearing aids do the same things
There’s a tendency to look at all of the great technology in modern hearing aids and imagine that it’s all extra, just bells and whistles. The problem is that if you wish to hear sounds clearly (sounds such as, you know, bells and whistles), you likely need some of that technology. Hearing aids have specialized technologies calibrated specifically for people with hearing loss. Many modern models have artificial intelligence that helps filter out background noise or connect with each other to help you hear better. Additionally, considering where (and why) you’ll be using your aids will help you select a model that fits your lifestyle.
That technology is necessary to compensate for your hearing loss in a healthy way. A little 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: An amplification device isn’t the same thing as a hearing aid
Okay, say this with me: a hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid. This is the number one takeaway from this article. 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 take a closer look. An amplifier:
- Provides the user with little more than basic volume controls (if that).
- Is usually built cheaply.
- Turns up the volume on all sounds.
Conversely, a hearing aid:
- Can create maximum comfort by being molded to your ear.
- Can reduce background noise.
- Has highly qualified professionals that adjust your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Boosts the frequencies that you have a hard time hearing and leaves the frequencies you can hear alone.
- Has long-lasting batteries.
- Has the capability to adjust settings when you change locations.
- Can be programed to recognize distinct sound profiles, like the human voice, and amplify them.
- Will help you safeguard the health of your hearing.
Your ability to hear is too essential to go cheap
Regardless of what your budget is, that budget will restrict your options depending on your general price range.
That’s why we often emphasize 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. This is why an affordable solution is what your focus should be. Don’t forget, cheap is less than your hearing deserves.”