We all enjoy a good bargain. But when it involves your health, be careful what you purchase and pay attention to the small details.
We know, it’s confusing, the names are very similar, but hearing aids and hearing amplifiers are not the same. And making the wrong selection could have important implications for your hearing and your general health.
Hearing amplifiers
A small device that goes inside of your ear, a hearing amplifier increases the volume of external sound. These tend to be quite simple, one-dimensional devices which the government classifies as personal sound amplification devices. The volume of the world is essentially cranked up.
These devices are usually not recommended for people with moderate to significant hearing loss because of their one-size-fits-all approach.
Hearing amplifier are not hearing aids
It starts to become fairly apparent that hearing aids are not the same as hearing amplification devices when you consider that amplifiers are not recommended for people with even moderate hearing loss. Hearing aids, obviously, are recommended for those with hearing loss.
Both hearing aids and hearing amplifiers have the ability to increase volumes. The biggest difference between the two devices is how cutting edge that amplification is.
- Picking out and amplifying speech is one of the primary functions of a hearing aid. Because communication is so central in our lives and also because of the uneven way hearing loss develops, this is an important function. So this function has been prioritized by hearing aid producers who have put substantial resources into enhancing it. There are sophisticated algorithms and processes working inside of hearing aids to make sure that, even in a crowded and noisy room, voices come through loud and clear.
- Hearing aids are made to select and magnify specific wavelengths of sound. Because hearing loss often progresses frequency by frequency. Either high-frequency sounds or low-frequency sounds commonly fade first. Hearing aids work to fill in the gaps in your hearing rather than just making everything louder. For people 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 quite a few factors that will influence the specific acoustics of a space. These adjustments can even be made automatically with some modern hearing aids. A dedicated device or smartphone can tune hearing aids that don’t do it automatically. You will avoid fewer locations because you will be capable of hearing better in a wider variety of settings as your hearing aids make minute adjustments.
To put it bluntly, properly treating hearing loss depends on these capabilities. Usually, personal amplifiers don’t have these features.
Finding the best solution at an affordable price
Along with a diminished ability to hear, neglected hearing loss can also result in cognitive decline. With amplifiers, you’re likely to do more harm to your hearing because the device doesn’t distinguish frequencies and will most likely turn everything up to unsafe levels. And who needs to do that?
Currently, the only recommended treatments for hearing loss, if it’s not a result of earwax, are some surgeries and hearing aids. You won’t save any money in the long run by neglecting to get treatment for your hearing loss. General healthcare costs have been shown to increase by more than 40% with untreated hearing loss. The good news is, there are budget friendly options. We can help.
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077