It just feels great to save money, right? Getting a great deal can be exhilarating, and more gratifying the better the bargain. So letting your coupon make your buying decisions for you, always going after the least expensive products, is all too easy. When it comes to purchasing a pair of hearing aids, chasing a bargain can be a huge oversight.
Health repercussions can result from going for the cheapest option if you require hearing aids to treat hearing loss. After all, the whole point of using 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 chance of falls. Finding the right hearing aid to suit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the key.
Tips for choosing affordable hearing aids
Cheap and affordable aren’t necessarily the same thing. Affordability, and functionality, are what you should be looking for. That will help you get the most ideal hearing aid possible for your personal budget. These tips will help.
You can get affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aid’s reputation for being very pricey is not necessarily reflected in the reality of the situation. Most 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 too expensive, you’re probably more inclined to search the bargain bin than look for affordable and reliable options, and that can have a long-term, detrimental 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. Some states, in fact, have laws requiring insurance companies to cover hearing aids for kids or adults. Asking never hurts. If you’re a veteran, you might be eligible for hearing aids through government programs.
Tip #3: Your hearing loss is unique – choose hearing aids that can tune to your hearing needs
In some ways, your hearing aids are similar to prescription glasses. The frame is fairly universal (depending on your sense of style, of course), but the prescription is adjusted for your distinct needs. Hearing aids, too, have specific settings, which we can tune for you, tailored to your exact needs.
Picking up a cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf won’t give you the same benefits (or any helpful results at all in many instances). These amplification devices increase all frequencies instead of raising only the frequencies you’re having trouble with. Why is this so important? Normally, hearing loss will only impact some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly fine. 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 a device. Simply put, it doesn’t really solve the problem and you’ll end up not using the cheaper device.
Tip #4: Different hearing aids have different functions
There’s a temptation to look at all of the amazing technology in modern hearing aids and think that it’s all extra, simply bells and whistles. The problem with this idea is that if you wish to hear sounds clearly (sounds such as, you know, bells and whistles), you most likely need some of that technology. The specialized 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 connect with each other. Also, selecting a model that fits your lifestyle will be easier if you factor in where (and why) you’ll be using your hearing aids.
It’s crucial, in order to compensate for your hearing loss in an efficient way, that you have some of this technology. Hearing aids are much more sophisticated than a simple, tiny speaker that boosts the volume of everything. And that brings us to our last tip.
Tip #5: An amplification device is not the same thing as a hearing aid
Alright, say this with me: A hearing aid is not the same thing as a hearing amplification device. If you get nothing else from this article, we hope it’s that. Because the manufacturers of amplification devices have a monetary interest in convincing the consumer that their devices work like hearing aids. But that’s dishonest marketing.
Let’s have a closer look. A hearing amplification device:
- Takes all sounds and makes them louder.
- Is typically built cheaply.
- Gives the user the ability to adjust the basic volume but that’s about all.
A hearing aid, on the other hand:
- Has the ability to change settings when you change locations.
- Increases the frequencies that you have a difficult time hearing and leaves the frequencies you can hear alone.
- Can be molded specifically to your ears for maximum comfort.
- Can be programed to recognize distinct sound profiles, such as the human voice, and amplify them.
- Can regulate background noise.
- Is adjusted specifically to your hearing loss symptoms by a highly skilled hearing professional.
- Will help protect your hearing health.
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
No matter what your budget is, that budget will restrict your options depending on your general price range.
This is why an affordable solution tends to be the focus. When it comes to hearing loss, the long term benefits of hearing loss management and hearing aids is well recognized. This is why an affordable solution is where your attention should be. Just remember that your hearing deserves better than “cheap.”