Saving money just feels good, right? Getting a great deal can be thrilling, and more gratifying the bigger the deal. It’s a little too easy, then, to make the cost your primary criteria, to always go for the least expensive option, to let your coupons make your buying choices for you. But going after a bargain when it comes to purchasing hearing aids can be a big oversight.
If you need hearing aids to treat hearing loss, choosing the “cheapest” option can have health repercussions. After all, the entire point of getting hearing aids is to be able to hear well and to prevent health issues associated with hearing loss including mental decline, depression, and an increased risk of falls. Choosing the right hearing aid to fit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the key.
Picking affordable hearing aids – some tips
Affordable is not equivalent cheap. Affordability, and functionality, are what you should be keeping your eye on. That will help you find the best hearing aid possible for your personal budget. These are helpful tips.
Tip #1: Research before you buy: Affordable hearing aids exist
Hearing aids have a reputation for taking a toll on your wallet, a reputation, however, is not necessarily reflected by reality. Most hearing aid makers will partner up with financing companies to make the device more budget friendly and also have hearing aids in a wide range of prices. 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 long-term, harmful 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 may be covered by your insurance. Some states, in fact, have laws requiring insurance companies to cover hearing aids for children or adults. Asking never hurts. There are government programs that frequently supply hearing aids for veterans.
Tip #3: Your hearing loss is unique – choose hearing aids that can tune to your hearing needs
Hearing aids are, in some aspects, a lot like prescription glasses. The frame is rather universal (depending on your sense of fashion, of course), but the prescription is adjusted for your specific needs. Similarly, hearing aids might look the same cosmetically, but each hearing aid is calibrated to the individual user’s hearing loss needs.
You’re won’t get the same results by grabbing some cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf (or, in many cases, results that are even remotely useful). These amplification devices boost all frequencies rather than boosting only the frequencies you’re having a hard time hearing. Why is this so important? Typically, hearing loss will only affect some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly fine. If you make it loud enough to hear the frequencies that are too quiet, you’ll make it painful in the frequencies you can hear without a device. You will most likely end up not using this cheap amplification device because it doesn’t resolve your real issue.
Tip #4: Different hearing aids have different capabilities
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 specialized technology in hearing aids can be tuned in to the user’s level of hearing loss. Background noise can be blocked out with many of these modern designs and some can connect with each other. Also, selecting a model that fits your lifestyle will be simpler if you take into account where (and why) you’ll be using your hearing aids.
It’s essential, in order to compensate for your hearing loss in an efficient way, that you have some of this technology. Hearing aids are much more advanced than a basic, tiny speaker that boosts the volume of everything. And that brings us to our last tip.
Tip #5: A hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid
Okay, say this with me: a hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid. If you get nothing else from this article, we hope it’s that. Because the manufacturers of amplification devices have a financial interest in convincing the consumer that their devices work like hearing aids. But that’s untruthful marketing.
Let’s take a closer look. An amplifier:
- Takes all sounds and makes them louder.
- Is usually made cheaply.
- Supplies the user with little more than basic volume controls (if that).
On the other hand, a hearing aid:
- Has highly skilled professionals that program your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Can identify and boost specific sound types (like the human voice).
- Will help you maintain the health of your hearing.
- Has the capability to change settings when you change locations.
- Can achieve maximum comfort by being molded to your ear.
- Can minimize background noise.
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Is tuned to amplify only the frequencies you have trouble hearing.
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
Everybody has a budget, and that budget is going to limit your hearing aid choices no matter what price range you’re looking in.
That’s why we tend to emphasize the affordable part of this. When it comes to hearing loss, the long term advantages of hearing loss treatment and hearing aids is well documented. This is why an affordable solution is where your attention should be. Don’t forget, cheap is less than your hearing deserves.”
