We all enjoy a good bargain. But you need to be careful and look out for small details when it comes to your health.
The names “hearing aid” and “hearing amplifier” may seem similar but they are actually entirely different devices. And your general hearing and health could suffer major consequences if you make the wrong choice about this.
What is a hearing amplifier?
A little device that goes in your ear, a hearing amplifier raises the volume of outside sound. These are usually very simple, one-dimensional devices which the government categorizes as personal sound amplification devices. A hearing amplifier is like cranking the volume up on the world.
These devices are generally not recommended for people with moderate to significant hearing loss because of their one-size-fits-all strategy.
Distinct difference between hearing aids and personal amplifiers
Once people learn that hearing amplifiers are not suggested for people with even modest hearing loss, the differences between the two devices begin to become pretty plain. Hearing aids, obviously, are encouraged for people with hearing loss.
Both kinds of devices are capable of raising the volume of external sound. But one of these devices has a much higher level of amplification technology and sophistication.
- Hearing aids are specially designed to help you hear speech. In part, that’s as a consequence of the uneven way hearing loss progresses, but it’s also because communication is such an important function of your hearing. As a result, hearing aid manufacturers have invested enormous resources into enhancing the clarity of speech above all else. In order to make sure voices can be heard clearly even in a noisy room, state-of-the-art technology and algorithms are packed inside of modern hearing aids.
- Whatever environment you find yourself, your hearing aids can tune in to it. There are quite a few variables that will influence the specific acoustics of a space. Some hearing aids can fine tune to these changes automatically. A dedicated device or smartphone can tune hearing aids that don’t do it automatically. By making small 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 want to avoid.
- Hearing aids are made to pick out and boost specific wavelengths of sound. That’s because people often lose their hearing one wavelength at a time. Either high-frequency sounds or low-frequency sounds typically vanish first. Hearing aids work to fill in the gaps in your hearing rather than just making everything louder. This selective strategy is far more effective for people with hearing loss.
To put it bluntly, correctly treating hearing loss depends on these capabilities. And these are attributes that are not present in most personal hearing amplifiers.
Finding the best option at an affordable price
Neglected hearing loss can lead to cognitive decline, along with increasingly diminished hearing abilities. Because amplifiers don’t distinguish between frequencies, if you turn them up enough to hear what you’re missing, you’ll probably have it up too loud for other frequencies….and damage your hearing further. And who needs to do that?
Currently, the only recommended treatments for hearing loss, if it’s not caused by 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. Untreated hearing loss has been demonstrated to increase your overall healthcare costs over 40%. 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