It just feels good to find a bargain, right? Getting a good deal can be invigorating, and more rewarding the better the bargain. It’s a little too easy, then, to make the price your main criteria, to always go for the least expensive option, to let your coupons make your buying choices for you. When it comes to investing in a pair of hearing aids, chasing a bargain can be a big mistake.
Health consequences can result from choosing the cheapest option if you need hearing aids to treat hearing loss. After all, the entire point of getting hearing aids is to be able to hear clearly and to prevent health problems associated with hearing loss including mental decline, depression, and an increased risk of falls. Choosing the right hearing aid to suit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the key.
Tips for choosing affordable hearing aids
Affordable is not the same thing as cheap. Keep an eye on affordability as well as functionality. That will help you get the most ideal hearing aid possible for your individual budget. These tips will help.
Tip #1: Research before you buy: Affordable hearing aids are available
Hearing aid’s reputation for being very pricey is not always reflected in the reality of the situation. Most manufacturers sell hearing aids in a wide 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 reliable hearing aids are out of reach, you’re probably more likely to search the bargain bin than seek out affordable and reliable options, and that can have a long-term, detrimental affect on your hearing and overall health.
Tip #2: Find out what your insurance will cover
Insurance might cover some or all of the costs related to getting a hearing aid. As a matter of fact, some states mandate that insurance cover them for both children and adults. It never hurts to ask. If you’re a veteran, you might be eligible for hearing aids through government programs.
Tip #3: Find hearing aids that can be calibrated to your hearing loss
In some aspects, your hearing aids are similar to prescription glasses. The frame is fairly universal (depending on your sense of fashion, of course), but the prescription is calibrated for your distinct needs. Hearing aids, too, have specific settings, which we can tune for you, tailored 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 instances, results that are even slightly helpful). These are more like amplifiers that increase the volume of all frequencies, not only the ones you’re having trouble hearing. Why is this so important? Typically, hearing loss will only affect some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly fine. If you boost all frequencies, the ones you have no trouble hearing will be too loud. Simply put, it doesn’t actually solve the problem and you’ll end up not using the cheaper device.
Tip #4: Different hearing aids have different capabilities
There’s a temptation to look at 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 clearly. Hearing aids have innovative technologies tuned specifically for those with hearing loss. Background noise can be blocked out with many of these modern designs and some can connect with each other. Also, choosing a model that fits your lifestyle will be easier if you factor in where (and why) you’ll be using your hearing aids.
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. And that brings up our last tip.
Tip #5: An amplification device is not the same thing as a hearing aid
Alright, say this with me: a hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid. This is the most important takeaway from this article. Because the makers of amplification devices have a monetary interest in persuading the consumer that their devices do what hearing aids do. But that’s untruthful marketing.
Let’s break it down. A hearing amplification device:
- Provides the user with little more than simple volume controls (if that).
- Turns the volume up on all sounds.
- Is typically built cheaply.
On the other hand, a hearing aid:
- Boosts the frequencies that you have a hard time hearing and leaves the frequencies you can hear alone.
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Can limit background noise.
- Is set up specifically to your hearing loss symptoms by a highly skilled hearing specialist.
- Has the capability to adjust settings when you change locations.
- Will help safeguard your hearing health.
- Can create maximum comfort by being shaped to your ear.
- Can pick out and amplify specific sound types (like the human voice).
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
No matter what your budget is, that budget will determine your options depending on your general price range.
This is why an affordable option tends to be the focus. The long-term benefits of hearing aids and hearing loss management are well documented. That’s why you need to work on an affordable solution. Don’t forget, cheap is less than your hearing deserves.”
