Saving money just feels great, right? It can be invigorating when you’ve received a great deal on something, and the bigger discount, the more satisfied you are. It’s a little too easy, then, to make the price your primary consideration, to always choose the least expensive option, to let your coupons make your buying choices for you. When it comes to purchasing a pair of hearing aids, going after a bargain can be a huge oversight.
If you need hearing aids to treat hearing loss, going for the “cheapest” option can have health repercussions. Preventing the development of health issues such as depression, dementia, and the danger of a fall is the whole point of using hearing aids after all. Finding the correct hearing aid to suit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the trick.
Finding affordable hearing aids – some tips
Cheap and affordable aren’t necessarily the same thing. Affordability, and functionality, are what you should be looking for. This will help you keep within your budget while allowing you to find the ideal hearing aids for your personal requirements and 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 always represented by reality. Most hearing aid makers will partner with financing companies to make the device more affordable and also have hearing aids in a variety of prices. If you’ve started exploring the bargain bin for hearing aids because you’ve already resolved that really good effective models are too expensive, it could have significant health consequences.
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 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 calibrate to your hearing situation
In some ways, your hearing aids are similar to prescription glasses. The frame is pretty universal (depending on your sense of style, of course), but the prescription is adjusted for your specific needs. Similarly, hearing aids might look the same cosmetically, but each hearing aid is tuned to the individual user’s hearing loss needs.
Buying a cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf won’t give you the same benefits (or, in many instances, results that are even slightly helpful). These are more like amplifiers that raise the sound of all frequencies, not only the ones you’re having trouble hearing. Why is this so important? Hearing loss is often irregular, you can hear some frequencies and voices, but not others. If you raise the volume enough to hear the frequencies that are low, you’ll make it uncomfortable 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 solve your real issue.
Tip #4: Different hearing aids have different capabilities
There’s a tendency to look at 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 properly (sounds such as, you know, bells and whistles), you likely need some of that technology. The sophisticated technology in hearing aids can be dialed in to the user’s level of hearing loss. Background noise can be filtered out with many of these modern designs and some can communicate with each other. Also, choosing 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 a reliable way, that you have some of this technology. Hearing aids are a lot more advanced than a basic, tiny speaker that amplifies everything. And that brings up our last tip.
Tip #5: An amplification device isn’t the same thing as a hearing aid
Okay, repeat after 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 makers of amplification devices have a monetary interest in persuading the consumer that their devices do what hearing aids do. But that’s untruthful marketing.
Let’s break it down. A hearing amplification device:
- Takes all sounds and turns up their volume.
- Is typically cheaply made.
- Gives the user the ability to adjust the basic volume but that’s about it.
On the other hand, a hearing aid:
- Can minimize background noise.
- Can be programed to identify specific sound profiles, like the human voice, and amplify them.
- Has the capability to change settings when you change locations.
- Will help protect your hearing health.
- Is adjusted specifically to your hearing loss symptoms by a highly qualified hearing specialist.
- Can be shaped specifically to your ears for optimal comfort.
- 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 regardless of what price range you’re looking in.
That’s why we normally highlight the affordable part of this. The long-term benefits of hearing aids and hearing loss management are well recognized. This is why an affordable solution is what your focus should be. Don’t forget, cheap is less than your hearing deserves.”