Saving money just feels great, right? It can be thrilling when you’ve found a great deal on something, and the larger discount, the more pleased you are. So letting your coupon make your shopping choices for you, always looking for the least expensive items, is all too easy. But going after a bargain when it comes to purchasing hearing aids 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 problems related to hearing loss including cognitive decline, depression, and an increased risk of falls. The trick is to choose the hearing aid that best fits your lifestyle, your hearing needs, and your budget.
Finding affordable hearing aids – some tips
Cheap and affordable aren’t necessarily the same thing. Keep an eye on affordability as well as functionality. That will help you get the best hearing aid possible for your individual budget. These are helpful tips.
You can obtain affordable hearing aids.
Hearing aids have a reputation for putting a dent in your pocketbook, a reputation, though, is not necessarily represented 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 number of prices. If you’ve already decided 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 affect on your hearing and overall health.
Tip #2: Find out what your insurance will cover
Insurance may cover some or all of the expenses associated with getting a hearing aid. Some states, in fact, have laws requiring insurance companies to cover hearing aids for kids or adults. It never hurts to ask. There are government programs that frequently provide hearing aids for veterans.
Tip #3: Find hearing aids that can be tuned to your hearing loss
Hearing aids are, in some ways, similar to prescription glasses. Depending on your sense of fashion, the frame comes in a few options, but the exact prescription differs significantly from person to person. Similarly, hearing aids may look alike cosmetically, but each hearing aid is tuned to the individual user’s hearing loss needs.
You’re not going to get the same results by grabbing some cheap hearing device from the clearance shelf (or, in many cases, results that are even slightly helpful). These amplification devices increase all frequencies instead of boosting only the frequencies you’re having a hard time hearing. Why is this so significant? Hearing loss is often uneven, you can hear some frequencies and sounds, but not others. If you increase all frequencies, the ones you have no problem hearing will be too loud. In other words, it doesn’t actually solve the problem and you’ll end up not using the cheaper device.
Tip #4: Not all hearing aids do the same things
It can be tempting to think that all of the modern technology in a quality hearing aid is simply “bells and whistles”. But you will need some of that technology to hear sounds properly. The sophisticated technology in hearing aids can be tuned in to the user’s level of hearing loss. Background noise can be filtered 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 factor in where (and why) you’ll be using your hearing aids.
That technology is essential to compensate for your hearing loss in a healthy way. A tiny speaker that turns the volume up on everything is far from the sophistication of a modern hearing aid. Which brings up our last tip.
Tip #5: An amplification device is not the same thing as 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 the makers 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. A hearing amplification device:
- Takes all sounds and makes them louder.
- Is typically cheaply built.
- Supplies the user with little more than simple volume controls (if that).
A hearing aid, on the other hand:
- Can create maximum comfort by being shaped to your ear.
- Has long-lasting batteries.
- Can pick out and boost specific sound types (such as the human voice).
- Increases the frequencies that you have a tough time hearing and leaves the frequencies you can hear alone.
- Has the ability to adjust settings when you change locations.
- Is set up specifically to your hearing loss symptoms by a highly qualified hearing professional.
- Will help you preserve the health of your hearing.
- Can limit background noise.
Your hearing deserves better than cheap
Regardless of what your budget is, that budget will determine your options depending on your overall price range.
That’s why we often emphasize the affordable part of this. The long-term advantages of hearing aids and hearing loss management are well recognized. This is why an affordable solution is what your focus should be. Just remember that your hearing deserves better than “cheap.”