Finding a bargain just feels good, right? It can be exhilarating when you’ve found a great deal on something, and the larger discount, the more satisfied you are. 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 buying choices for you. When it comes to investing in a pair of hearing aids, going after a bargain can be a big oversight.
If you require hearing aids to treat hearing loss, choosing the “cheapest” option can have health consequences. Avoiding the development of health issues including depression, dementia, and the danger of a fall is the entire point of using hearing aids in the first place. The key is to choose the hearing aid that best suits your lifestyle, your hearing requirements, and your budget.
Finding affordable hearing aids – some tips
Affordable is not the same thing as cheap. Affordability, and functionality, are what you should be looking for. That will help you find the best hearing aid possible for your individual budget. These tips will help.
You can get affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aids have a reputation for putting a dent in your pocketbook, a reputation, however, is not necessarily represented by reality. Most manufacturers sell hearing aids in a broad range of price points and work with financing companies to make their devices more budget friendly. If you’ve already made the decision that the most effective hearing aids are too expensive, you’re probably more inclined to search the bargain bin than look for affordable and effective options, and that can have a lasting, negative affect on your hearing and overall health.
Tip #2: Ask what’s covered
Some or even all of the cost of hearing aids could 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 may be eligible for hearing aids through government programs.
Tip #3: Your hearing loss is unique – choose hearing aids that can tune to your hearing situation
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 greatly from person to person. Hearing aids, too, have specific settings, which we can calibrate for you, personalized to your exact needs.
You’re not going to get the same benefits by grabbing some cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf (or, in many instances, results that are even remotely useful). These amplification devices increase all frequencies instead of boosting only the frequencies you’re having trouble with. Why is this so important? Typically, hearing loss will only impact some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly. If you raise all frequencies, the ones you have no trouble hearing will be too loud. You will probably end up not using this cheap amplification device because it doesn’t solve your real problem.
Tip #4: Different hearing aids have different functions
There’s a temptation to look at all of the great technology in modern hearing aids and think that it’s all extra, simply bells and whistles. But you will need some of that technology to hear sounds clearly. Hearing aids have specialized technologies tuned specifically for people who have hearing loss. Many modern models have artificial intelligence that helps block out background noise or connect with each other to help you hear better. Additionally, taking into account where (and why) you’ll be using your aids will help you select a model that fits your lifestyle.
That technology is essential to compensate for your hearing loss in a healthy way. A tiny speaker that turns the volume up on everything is far from the sophistication of a modern hearing aid. Which brings up our last tip.
Tip #5: A hearing amplification device is not 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 hearing amplification devices try really hard to make you think they do the same thing as a hearing aid for a fraction of the price. But that simply isn’t true.
Let’s break it down. An amplifier:
- Supplies the user with little more than simple volume controls (if that).
- Is typically made cheaply.
- Takes all sounds and turns up their volume.
Conversely, a hearing aid:
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Can pick out and amplify specific sound types (such as the human voice).
- Can create maximum comfort by being shaped to your ear.
- Is calibrated to amplify only the frequencies you have trouble hearing.
- Can reduce background noise.
- Will help safeguard your hearing health.
- Has highly skilled specialists that adjust your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Has the ability to change settings when you change locations.
Your ability to hear is too essential to go cheap
Everyone has a budget, and that budget is going to limit your hearing aid choices regardless of what price range you’re looking in.
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 should concentrate on an affordable solution. Just remember that your hearing deserves better than “cheap.”