We all enjoy a good bargain. But you should be careful and be aware of small details when it comes to your health.
The names “hearing aid” and “hearing amplifier” may seem similar but they are actually very different devices. And your general hearing and health could suffer major repercussions if you make the wrong decision about this.
What is a hearing amplifier?
A hearing amplifier is a little device that, when put in your ear, raises the volume of the sounds around you. Technically classified as personal sound amplification products by the government, these gadgets tend to be quite simple and one-dimensional. The volume of the world is essentially turned up.
These devices are typically not recommended for individuals with moderate to significant hearing loss because of their one-size-fits-all approach.
Hearing amplifier are not hearing aids
Once people learn that hearing amplifiers are not suggested for people with even modest hearing loss, the differences between the two devices start to become rather plain. Hearing aids, obviously, are recommended for people with hearing loss.
Both hearing aids and hearing amplifiers have the ability to increase volumes. The biggest difference between the two devices is how sophisticated that amplification is.
- Selecting and amplifying speech is one of the main functions of a hearing aid. To some extent, that’s due to the irregular way hearing loss progresses, but it’s also because communication is such a fundamental function of your hearing. Because of this, hearing aid makers have invested significant resources into enhancing the clarity of speech above everything else. There are sophisticated algorithms and processes working within hearing aids to make sure that, even in a crowded and noisy room, voices come through loud and clear.
- Hearing aids can be calibrated for your environment. There are a number of factors that will impact the exact acoustics of a space. 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 locations because you will be able to hear better in a wider variety of places as your hearing aids make minute adjustments.
- Hearing aids are made to pick out and boost certain wavelengths of sound. Because hearing loss normally progresses frequency by frequency. Frequencies at the higher and lower end of the spectrum are commonly the first to go. Rather than making everything louder, hearing aids work to plug holes in what you’re hearing. This selective approach is a lot more effective for people with hearing loss.
To put it bluntly, properly managing hearing loss depends on these capabilities. And these are features that are not present in most personal hearing amplifiers.
Finding the best solution at an affordable price
Along with a decreased ability to hear, neglected hearing loss can also result in mental decline. 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 do additional damage. And that’s not good for anybody.
Unless your hearing loss is from earwax, hearing aids and certain surgeries are the only approved treatment options for hearing loss at this time. You won’t save any money long term by failing to get treatment for your hearing loss. Neglected hearing loss has been shown to increase your overall healthcare costs more than 40 percent. The good news is, there are affordable options. We can help.
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077