Saving money just feels good, right? It can be exhilarating when you’ve found a good deal on something, and the bigger discount, the more satisfied you are. So letting your coupon make your buying choices for you, always chasing after the least expensive items, is all too easy. But chasing a bargain when it comes to buying hearing aids can be a big mistake.
If you require hearing aids to manage hearing loss, going for the “cheapest” option can have health repercussions. Avoiding the development of health problems like depression, dementia, and the danger of a fall is the entire point of using hearing aids after all. The trick is to choose the hearing aid that best suits your lifestyle, your hearing requirements, and your budget.
Tips for picking affordable hearing aids
Affordable is not equivalent cheap. Affordability, and functionality, are what you should be looking for. That will help you get the best hearing aid possible for your personal budget. These tips will help.
Tip #1: Do your homework: Affordable hearing aids exist
Hearing aids have a reputation for taking a toll on your wallet, a reputation, though, is not necessarily represented by reality. Most hearing aid manufacturers will partner with financing companies to make the device more affordable and also have hearing aids in a number of prices. If you’ve already made the decision that the most reliable hearing aids are too expensive, you’re probably more likely to search the bargain bin than look for affordable and effective options, and that can have a lasting, negative impact on your hearing and overall health.
Tip #2: Find out what your insurance will cover
Insurance might cover some or all of the costs associated with getting a hearing aid. Actually, some states require that insurance cover them for both children and adults. It never hurts to ask. There are government programs that often supply hearing aids for veterans.
Tip #3: Your hearing loss is unique – find hearing aids that can tune to your hearing needs
In some aspects, your hearing aids are a lot like 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 calibrate for you, personalized to your precise needs.
You won’t get the same results by grabbing some cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf (or, in many instances, results that are even slightly useful). These amplification devices increase all frequencies instead of boosting only the frequencies you’re having trouble with. What’s the significance of this? Hearing loss is often irregular, you can hear some frequencies and voices, but not others. If you make it loud enough to hear the frequencies that are low, you’ll make it painful in the frequencies you can hear without amplification. You will most likely end up not using this cheap amplification device because it doesn’t resolve your real problem.
Tip #4: Not all hearing aids have the same features
There’s a tendency to view all of the great technology in modern hearing aids and imagine that it’s all extra, just bells and whistles. But you will need some of that technology to hear sounds properly. The sophisticated technology in hearing aids can be tuned in to the user’s level of hearing loss. Background noise can be filtered out with many of these modern designs and some can communicate with each other. Also, selecting a model that fits your lifestyle will be simpler if you factor in where (and why) you’ll be using your hearing aids.
That technology is essential to compensate for your hearing loss in a healthy way. Hearing aids are much more advanced than a basic, tiny speaker that amplifies everything. Which brings up our last tip.
Tip #5: An amplification device is not the same thing as a hearing aid
Okay, say this with me: A hearing aid is not the same thing as an amplification device. If you take nothing else away from this article, we hope it’s that. Because the providers of amplification devices have a monetary interest in persuading the consumer that their devices work like hearing aids. But that just isn’t true.
Let’s break it down. An amplifier:
- Takes all sounds and turns up their volume.
- Gives the user the ability to control the basic volume but that’s about all.
- Is typically cheaply built.
Conversely, a hearing aid:
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Can achieve maximum comfort by being shaped to your ear.
- Will help safeguard your hearing health.
- Can be programmed with different settings for different locations.
- Is set up specifically to your hearing loss symptoms by a highly skilled hearing professional.
- Can regulate background noise.
- Increases the frequencies that you have a tough time hearing and leaves the frequencies you can hear alone.
- Can be programed to recognize distinct sound profiles, such as the human voice, and amplify them.
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
Regardless of what your budget is, that budget will determine 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 treatment and hearing aids is well documented. That’s why you need to focus on an affordable solution. Don’t forget, cheap is less than your hearing deserves.”
