Who doesn’t love getting a good bargain? But when it has to do with your health, be careful what you buy and pay attention to the little details.
The terms “hearing aid” and “hearing amplifier” might seem similar but they are actually very different devices. And making the wrong choice could have significant implications for your hearing and your overall health.
Hearing amplifiers
A hearing amplifier is a small device that, when placed in your ear, raises the volume of the sounds around you. These are usually quite simple, one-dimensional devices which the government categorizes as personal sound amplification devices. The volume of the world is essentially cranked up.
Because of their one-size-fits-all strategy, hearing amplifiers aren’t appropriate for people who have moderate to significant hearing loss.
Hearing amplifier are not hearing aids
It starts to become pretty obvious that hearing aids are not the same as hearing amplification devices when you recognize that amplifiers are not recommended for people with even moderate hearing loss. Of course, hearing aids are appropriate for individuals with hearing loss.
Both hearing aids and hearing amplifiers have the ability to increase volumes. But one of these devices has a much higher degree of amplification technology and sophistication.
- With hearing aids, only particular frequencies of sound are boosted. That’s because people tend to lose their hearing one wavelength at a time. Either high-frequency sounds or low-frequency sounds typically disappear first. Hearing aids work to fill in the gaps in your hearing rather than just making everything louder. For individuals who have hearing loss, this selective approach is more effective.
- Whatever environment you find yourself, your hearing aids can tune in to it. There are numerous variables that will impact the specific acoustics of a space. Some hearing aids can adjust to these changes automatically. A dedicated device or smartphone can tune hearing aids that don’t do it automatically. You will avoid fewer places because you will be able to hear better in a wider variety of places as your hearing aids make little adjustments.
- Hearing aids are specifically manufactured to help you hear speech. Because communication is so essential in our lives and also because of the irregular way hearing loss progresses, this is an essential function. Because of this, hearing aid manufacturers have invested enormous resources into improving the clarity of speech above all else. There are sophisticated algorithms and processes working within hearing aids to make sure that, even in a crowded and noisy space, voices come through loud and clear.
Bottom line, these features are vital elements of effectively treating hearing loss. And these are attributes that are not present in the majority of personal hearing amplifiers.
Finding the best option at an affordable price
Neglected hearing loss can contribute to cognitive decline, along with increasingly diminished ability to hear. Because amplifiers don’t distinguish between frequencies, if you turn them up enough to hear what you’re missing, you’ll likely have it up too loud for other wavelengths….and do additional damage. And that’s not good for anyone.
Unless your hearing loss is being caused by earwax, hearing aids and some surgeries are the only approved treatment options for hearing loss right now. You won’t save any money long term by failing to get treatment for your hearing loss. General healthcare costs have been shown to increase by more than 40% with neglected hearing loss. The good news is, there are budget friendly solutions. Just ask us.
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077