We all love a good bargain. But you should be careful and watch out for small details when it comes to your health.
The terms “hearing aid” and “hearing amplifier” may seem similar but they are actually completely different devices. And making the wrong selection could have significant implications for your hearing and your general health.
Hearing amplifiers
A hearing amplifier is a small device that, when placed in your ear, increases the volume of the sounds around you. These are generally quite simple, one-dimensional devices which the government categorizes as personal sound amplification devices. The volume of the world is essentially turned up.
Because of their one-size-fits-all strategy, hearing amplifiers are not recommended for people who have moderate to significant hearing loss.
Hearing amplifier aren’t hearing aids
It begins 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 individuals who suffer from hearing loss.
Both hearing aids and hearing amplifiers make things louder. The biggest difference between the two devices is how cutting edge that amplification is.
- Hearing aids are made to select and boost certain wavelengths of sound. That’s because people tend to lose their hearing one frequency at a time. Frequencies at the higher and lower end of the scale are commonly the first to go. Hearing aids work to fill in the holes in your hearing rather than just making everything louder. For individuals who have hearing loss, this selective approach is more effective.
- Hearing aids can be calibrated for your environment. The acoustics of any given place will change depending on a lengthy list of variables. Some hearing aids can fine tune to these changes automatically. A dedicated device or smartphone can calibrate hearing aids that don’t do it automatically. You will avoid fewer places because you will be capable of hearing better in a wider variety of settings as your hearing aids make little adjustments.
- Picking out and amplifying speech is one of the primary features of a hearing aid. Because communication is so essential 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 considerable 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 space, voices come through loud and clear.
Bottom line, these features are vital elements of effectively treating hearing loss. And these are features that are not present in most personal hearing amplifiers.
Finding the best option at an affordable price
Untreated hearing loss can contribute to cognitive decline, not to mention increasingly diminished ability to hear. With amplifiers, you’re likely to do more damage to your hearing as the device doesn’t distinguish frequencies and will most likely turn everything up to unsafe volumes. And that isn’t good for anybody.
Unless your hearing loss is being caused by earwax, hearing aids and some surgeries are the only authorized treatments for hearing loss at this time. You won’t save any money long term by failing to get treatment for your hearing loss. Untreated hearing loss has been shown to increase your general healthcare costs over 40%. Fortunately, there are affordable options. Just ask us.
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References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077