It just feels great to save money, right? It can be invigorating when you’ve received a good deal on something, and the bigger discount, the more satisfied you are. So letting your coupon make your shopping decisions for you, always going after the least expensive products, is all too easy. But chasing a bargain when it comes to buying hearing aids can be a big oversight.
If you require hearing aids to treat hearing loss, choosing the “cheapest” option can have health consequences. Preventing the development of health issues such as depression, dementia, and the risk of a fall is the entire point of using hearing aids after all. The key is to find the hearing aid that best suits your lifestyle, your hearing requirements, and your budget.
Tips for finding affordable hearing aids
Affordable is not the same thing as cheap. Keep an eye on affordability as well as functionality. This will help you stay within your budget while allowing you to get the correct hearing aids for your personal needs and budget. These are helpful tips.
You can get affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aid’s reputation for being very pricey is not always reflected in the reality of the situation. Most hearing aid makers will partner with financing companies to make the device more budget friendly and also have hearing aids in a variety 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 seek out affordable and reliable options, and that can have a lasting, harmful impact on your hearing and overall health.
Tip #2: Ask what’s covered
Some or even all of the expense of hearing aids may be covered by your insurance. In fact, some states mandate that insurance cover them for both children and adults. Asking never hurts. If you’re a veteran, you may be eligible for hearing aids through government programs.
Tip #3: Look for hearing aids that can be calibrated to your hearing loss
Hearing aids are, in some aspects, similar to prescription glasses. Depending on your sense of style, the frame comes in a few choices, but the exact prescription differs greatly from person to person. Hearing aids, too, have specific settings, which we can tune for you, personalized to your exact needs.
Buying a cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf is not going to give you the same benefits (or, in many instances, results that are even slightly helpful). These are more like amplification devices that raise the sound of all frequencies, not just the ones you’re having trouble hearing. Why is this so significant? Hearing loss is usually irregular, you can hear certain frequencies and sounds, but not others. If you increase all frequencies, the ones you have no trouble hearing will be too loud. In other words, it doesn’t really solve the problem and you’ll wind up not using the cheaper device.
Tip #4: Not all hearing aids have the same features
There’s a temptation to view 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 in order to hear sounds properly (sounds like, you know, bells and whistles), you probably need some of that technology. Hearing aids have innovative technologies tuned specifically for those with hearing loss. Many modern models have artificial intelligence that helps filter out background noise or communicate with each other to help you hear better. In addition, thinking about 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 little speaker that cranks the volume up on everything is far from the sophistication of a modern hearing aid. And that brings us to our last tip.
Tip #5: An amplification device is not the same thing as a hearing aid
Okay, repeat after me: a hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid. This is the number one takeaway from this article. Because the makers of amplification devices have a financial interest in persuading the consumer that their devices do what hearing aids do. But that’s dishonest marketing.
Let’s take a closer look. A hearing amplification device:
- Is often cheaply made.
- Gives the user the ability to adjust the basic volume but that’s about it.
- Turns up the volume on all sounds.
A hearing aid, on the other hand:
- Can be programmed with different settings for different places.
- Boosts the frequencies that you have a difficult time hearing and leaves the frequencies you can hear alone.
- Can regulate background noise.
- Is adjusted specifically to your hearing loss symptoms by a highly qualified hearing specialist.
- Has long-lasting batteries.
- Can be programed to recognize specific sound profiles, like the human voice, and amplify them.
- Can be shaped specifically to your ears for maximum comfort.
- Will help protect your hearing health.
Your ability to hear is too essential to go cheap
Everyone has a budget, and that budget is going to limit your hearing aid options regardless of what price range you’re looking in.
That’s why we often highlight the affordable part of this. 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.”