Who doesn’t enjoy finding a good bargain? But when it has to do with your health, be careful what you purchase and pay attention to the small details.
The terms “hearing aid” and “hearing amplifier” might seem similar but they are actually entirely different devices. And your general hearing and health could suffer major repercussions if you make the wrong choice about this.
Hearing amplifiers
A little device that goes in your ear, a hearing amplifier increases the volume of outside sound. Technically categorized as personal sound amplification products by the government, these devices tend to be quite simple and one-dimensional. The volume of the world is essentially turned up.
Because of their one-size-fits-all strategy, hearing amplifiers are not appropriate for people who have moderate to extensive hearing loss.
Hearing amplifier are not hearing aids
It starts to become pretty 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 encouraged for those with hearing loss.
Both kinds of devices can raise the volume of external sound. But one of these devices has a much higher degree of amplification technology and sophistication.
- Hearing aids are made to identify and boost certain frequencies of sound. That’s because people normally lose their hearing one wavelength at a time. Frequencies at the higher and lower end of the scale are generally the first to go. Hearing aids work to fill in the holes in your hearing rather than just making everything louder. For people who have hearing loss, this selective approach is more effective.
- Hearing aids are specially manufactured to help you comprehend speech. In part, that’s due to the irregular way hearing loss progresses, but it’s also because communication is such an essential function of your hearing. As a result, hearing aid manufacturers have invested significant resources into improving the clarity of speech above everything else. In order to make sure voices come through clearly even in a crowded room, state-of-the-art technology and algorithms are packed inside of modern hearing aids.
- Whatever environment you find yourself, your hearing aids can calibrate to it. There are a number of factors that will impact the exact acoustics of a space. These adjustments can even be made automatically with some modern hearing aids. Others can be adjusted with a smartphone or a dedicated device. By making minute adjustments to the settings of your hearing aid, you’re capable of hearing better in a wider variety of environments, meaning there will be fewer places you wish to avoid.
Simply put, these capabilities are crucial elements of correctly managing hearing loss. And these are features that are not present in the majority of personal hearing amplifiers.
Finding the best solution at an affordable price
Neglected hearing loss can lead to cognitive decline, along with increasingly diminished ability to hear. Because amplifiers don’t distinguish between frequencies, if you raise the volume enough to hear what you’re missing, you’ll likely have it up too loud for other frequencies….and do additional damage. And that’s not good for anyone.
Unless your hearing loss is from earwax, hearing aids and certain surgeries are the only approved treatments for hearing loss at this time. Ignoring hearing loss and avoiding treatment doesn’t save you money ultimately. Untreated hearing loss has been demonstrated to increase your general healthcare costs over 40%. The good news is, there are affordable solutions. Just ask us.
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References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077