Saving money just feels great, right? Getting a good deal can be invigorating, and more gratifying the bigger the bargain. So letting your coupon make your shopping decisions for you, always going after the least expensive items, is all too easy. When it comes to investing in a pair of hearing aids, chasing a bargain can be a big mistake.
If you require hearing aids to treat hearing loss, choosing the “cheapest” option can have health repercussions. After all, the entire point of using hearing aids is to be able to hear well and to prevent health issues related to hearing loss such as cognitive decline, depression, and an increased risk of falls. Finding the correct hearing aid to fit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the trick.
Tips for choosing affordable hearing aids
Cheap and affordable aren’t always the same thing. Affordability, and functionality, are what you should be keeping your eye on. This will help you keep within your budget while enabling you to find the correct hearing aids for your personal needs and budget. These tips will help.
Tip #1: Do your homework: Affordable hearing aids exist
Hearing aid’s reputation for being extremely pricey is not always reflected in the reality of the situation. Most hearing aid manufacturers will partner 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 decided that the most effective hearing aids are too expensive, you’re probably more likely to search the bargain bin than look for affordable and effective options, and that can have a long-term, harmful impact on your hearing and overall health.
Tip #2: Ask what’s covered
Insurance may cover some or all of the expenses associated with getting a hearing aid. Some states, in fact, have laws mandating 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: Find hearing aids that can be tuned to your hearing loss
In some ways, your hearing aids are a lot like prescription glasses. The frame is pretty universal (depending on your sense of style, of course), but the prescription is calibrated for your distinct needs. Hearing aids, too, have distinct settings, which we can tune for you, tailored 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 cases, results that are even remotely useful). These are more like amplifiers that raise the sound of all frequencies, not only the ones you’re having difficulty hearing. Why is this so important? Hearing loss is usually uneven, you can hear certain frequencies and voices, but not others. If you raise the volume enough to hear the frequencies that are low, you’ll make it painful in the frequencies you can hear without a device. Simply put, it doesn’t really solve the problem and you’ll wind up not using the cheaper device.
Tip #4: Different hearing aids have different capabilities
There’s a temptation to view all of the amazing technology in modern hearing aids and imagine that it’s all extra, just bells and whistles. The problem with this idea is that if you wish to hear sounds clearly (sounds like, you know, bells and whistles), you likely need some of that technology. The sophisticated 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. In addition, taking into account where (and why) you’ll be using your aids will help you select a model that fits your lifestyle.
It’s essential, in order to compensate for your hearing loss in a reliable way, that you have some of this technology. A tiny speaker that turns 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: A hearing amplification device is not 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 hearing amplification devices try very hard to make you think they do the same thing as a hearing aid for a fraction of the price. But that’s untruthful marketing.
Let’s have a closer look. An amplifier:
- Turns up the volume on all sounds.
- Is typically made cheaply.
- Gives the user the ability to adjust the basic volume but that’s about it.
A hearing aid, however:
- Is tuned to amplify only the frequencies you have difficulty hearing.
- Has highly skilled specialists that program your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Can create maximum comfort by being molded to your ear.
- Can reduce background noise.
- Can be programmed with different settings for different places.
- Will help you maintain the health of your hearing.
- Can be programed to recognize distinct sound profiles, such as the human voice, and amplify them.
Your ability to hear is too important to go 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. The long-term benefits of hearing aids and hearing loss treatment are well recognized. That’s why you need to work on an affordable solution. Don’t forget, cheap is less than your hearing deserves.”