Who doesn’t enjoy finding a good bargain? But when it involves your health, be careful what you purchase and pay attention to the small details.
We know, it’s confusing, the names are very similar, but hearing aids and hearing amplifiers are not equivalent. And your general hearing and health could suffer severe repercussions if you make the wrong choice about this.
What is a hearing amplifier?
A hearing amplifier is a small device that, when placed in your ear, increases the volume of the sounds around you. These are usually quite simple, one-dimensional devices which the government classifies as personal sound amplification devices. A hearing amplifier is like turning the volume up on the world.
These devices are typically not suggested for people with moderate to significant hearing loss because of their one-size-fits-all approach.
Hearing amplifier aren’t hearing aids
Once people learn that hearing amplifiers aren’t recommended for people with even modest hearing loss, the differences between the two devices begin to become pretty stark. Of course, hearing aids are appropriate for individuals who cope with hearing loss.
Both kinds of devices can raise the volume of external sound. The primary difference between the two devices is how cutting edge that amplification is.
- Hearing aids are specially designed to help you understand speech. Because communication is so central in our lives and also because of the uneven way hearing loss progresses, this is an important function. As a result, hearing aid manufacturers have invested monumental resources into improving the clarity of speech above all else. There are state-of-the-art algorithms and processes working inside of hearing aids to make sure that, even in a crowded and noisy space, voices come through clearly.
- With hearing aids, only particular wavelengths of sound are boosted. That’s because people normally lose their hearing one frequency at a time. Either high-frequency sounds or low-frequency sounds typically fade 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.
- Hearing aids can be calibrated for your environment. The acoustics of any given space will change depending on a list of variables. These adjustments can even be made automatically with some modern hearing aids. A dedicated device or smartphone can tune hearing aids that don’t do it automatically. You will avoid fewer places because you will be able to hear better in a wider variety of places as your hearing aids make minute adjustments.
Simply put, these capabilities are vital elements of properly treating hearing loss. Usually, personal amplifiers don’t have these abilities.
Finding the best solution at an affordable price
Along with a decreased ability to hear, untreated hearing loss can also lead to mental decline. Because amplifiers don’t differentiate 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 who needs to do that?
Right now, the only recommended treatments for hearing loss, if it’s not caused by earwax, are certain surgeries and hearing aids. You won’t save any money long term by neglecting to get treatment for your hearing loss. Overall healthcare costs have been found to increase by more than 40% with neglected hearing loss. Fortunately, there are affordable options. Just ask us.
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077
