Saving money just feels good, right? It can be thrilling when you’ve received a good deal on something, and the bigger discount, the more pleased you are. It’s a little too easy, then, to make the cost your main criteria, to always choose the least expensive option, to let your coupons make your buying decisions for you. But chasing a bargain when it comes to purchasing hearing aids can be a big oversight.
If you require hearing aids to manage hearing loss, going for the “cheapest” option can have health repercussions. After all, the entire point of getting hearing aids is to be able to hear clearly and to prevent health issues related to hearing loss such as cognitive decline, depression, and an increased risk of falls. Finding the right hearing aid to fit your hearing needs, lifestyle, and budget is the key.
Tips for picking affordable hearing aids
Affordable is not equivalent cheap. Affordability, as well as functionality, are what you should be keeping your eye on. This will help you keep within your budget while enabling you to find the ideal hearing aids for your personal needs and budget. These tips will help.
You can get affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aids have a reputation for taking a toll on your wallet, a reputation, however, is not necessarily represented by reality. Most manufacturers sell hearing aids in a number of price points and work with financing companies to make their devices more affordable. 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 seek out affordable and effective options, and that can have a long-term, negative impact on your hearing and overall health.
Tip #2: Ask what’s covered
Insurance might cover some or all of the expenses related to getting a hearing aid. Some states, in fact, have laws mandating insurance companies to cover hearing aids for kids or adults. It never hurts to ask. 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, similar to prescription glasses. The frame is pretty universal (depending on your sense of fashion, of course), but the prescription is adjusted for your distinct needs. Similarly, hearing aids might look the same cosmetically, but each hearing aid is tuned to the individual user’s hearing loss needs.
You won’t get the same results by grabbing some cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf (or, in many cases, results that are even slightly useful). These are more like amplification devices that raise the sound of all frequencies, not just the ones you’re having difficulty hearing. What’s the significance of this? Normally, hearing loss will only impact some frequencies while you can hear others perfectly fine. If you boost all frequencies, the ones you have no trouble hearing will be too loud. You will most likely end up not using this cheap amplification device because it doesn’t solve your real problem.
Tip #4: Not all hearing aids do the same things
There’s a tendency to look at all of the great 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 properly (sounds such as, you know, bells and whistles), you probably need some of that technology. Hearing aids have specialized technologies calibrated specifically for those who have hearing loss. Background sound can be filtered out with many of these modern designs and some can communicate 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.
That technology is crucial to compensate for your hearing loss in a healthy way. Hearing aids are a lot more advanced than a simple, tiny speaker that amplifies everything. Which brings us to our last tip.
Tip #5: A hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid
Alright, say this with me: a hearing amplification device is not a hearing aid. If you take nothing else away from this article, we hope it’s that. Because hearing amplification devices try very hard to make you believe they work the same way as a hearing aid for a fraction of the cost. But that’s untruthful marketing.
Let’s take a closer look. A hearing amplification device:
- Is usually made cheaply.
- Takes all sounds and turns up their volume.
- Provides the user with little more than simple volume controls (if that).
On the other hand, a hearing aid:
- Has the ability to change settings when you change locations.
- Has batteries that are long lasting.
- Is tuned to amplify only the frequencies you have trouble hearing.
- Can be molded specifically to your ears for optimal comfort.
- Can reduce background noise.
- Can identify and amplify specific sound categories (like the human voice).
- Has highly qualified specialists that adjust your hearing aids to your hearing loss symptoms.
- Will help protect your hearing health.
Your ability to hear is too important to go cheap
Everyone has a budget, and that budget is going to limit your hearing aid choices regardless of what price range you’re looking in.
This is why an affordable solution tends to be the emphasis. When it comes to hearing loss, the long term benefits of hearing loss treatment and hearing aids is well documented. That’s why you should work on an affordable solution. Don’t forget, cheap is less than your hearing deserves.”