We all enjoy a good bargain. But when it has to do with your health, be careful what you buy and pay attention to the little details.
We know, it can be confusing, the names are rather similar, but hearing aids and hearing amplifiers are not the same. And making the wrong selection could have significant ramifications for your hearing and your general health.
What is a hearing amplifier?
A little device that goes inside of your ear, a hearing amplifier raises the volume of external sound. Technically classified as personal sound amplification products by the government, these gadgets tend to be quite simple and one-dimensional. A hearing amplifier is like cranking the volume up on the world.
These devices are generally not suggested for individuals with moderate to severe hearing loss because of their one-size-fits-all approach.
Hearing amplifier aren’t hearing aids
It begins to become fairly obvious 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 who suffer from hearing loss.
Both types of devices are capable of raising the volume of outside sound. The primary difference between the two devices is how cutting edge that amplification is.
- Selecting and amplifying speech is one of the primary functions of a hearing aid. To some extent, that’s as a consequence of the irregular way hearing loss progresses, but it’s also because communication is such an essential function of your hearing. So this function has been prioritized by hearing aid manufacturers who have put substantial resources into enhancing it. There are state-of-the-art algorithms and processes working inside of hearing aids to ensure that, even in a crowded and noisy room, voices come through loud and clear.
- Whatever environment you find yourself, your hearing aids can tune in to it. There are numerous variables that will influence the exact acoustics of a space. Some hearing aids can fine tune to these changes automatically. Others can be tuned using a smartphone or a dedicated device. By making small adjustments to the settings of your hearing aid, you’re able to hear better in a wider variety of environments, meaning there will be fewer places you want to avoid.
- Hearing aids are made to pick out and boost specific wavelengths of sound. Because hearing loss often progresses wavelength by wavelength. Either high-frequency sounds or low-frequency sounds commonly vanish first. Instead of making everything louder, hearing aids work to plug holes in what you’re hearing. For individuals who have hearing loss, this selective approach is more effective.
To put it bluntly, correctly treating hearing loss depends on these capabilities. Usually, personal amplifiers don’t have these features.
Finding the best option at an affordable price
Neglected hearing loss can lead to cognitive decline, along with increasingly diminished hearing abilities. With amplifiers, you’re very likely to do more harm to your hearing because the device doesn’t differentiate frequencies and will most likely turn everything up to unsafe volumes. And who needs to do that?
Unless your hearing loss is being caused by earwax, hearing aids and some surgeries are the only authorized treatment options for hearing loss right now. You won’t save any money in the long run by failing to get treatment for your hearing loss. Overall healthcare costs have been found to increase by more than 40% with untreated hearing loss. Fortunately, there are affordable solutions. Just ask us.
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077