Who doesn’t love finding a good bargain? But when it comes to your health, be careful what you buy and pay attention to the small details.
We know, it can be confusing, the names are rather similar, but hearing aids and hearing amplifiers are not identical. And your general hearing and health could suffer serious repercussions if you make the wrong decision about this.
Hearing amplifiers
A hearing amplifier is a small device that, when placed in your ear, raises the volume of the sounds around you. These tend to be very simple, one-dimensional devices which the government categorizes as personal sound amplification devices. The volume of the world is essentially turned up.
These devices are typically not suggested 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 aren’t recommended for individuals with even moderate hearing loss, the differences between the two devices begin to become rather stark. Hearing aids, obviously, are recommended for those who suffer from hearing loss.
Both types of devices are capable of raising the volume of external sound. The main difference between the two devices is how sophisticated that amplification is.
- Selecting and amplifying speech is one of the primary features of a hearing aid. Because communication is so central in our lives and also because of the irregular way hearing loss develops, this is an important function. Because of this, hearing aid manufacturers have invested monumental resources into maximizing the clarity of speech above all else. In order to make certain voices come through clearly even in a noisy room, sophisticated technology and algorithms are bundled inside of modern hearing aids.
- Hearing aids are made to select and magnify specific frequencies of sound. Because hearing loss normally progresses wavelength by wavelength. Either high-frequency sounds or low-frequency sounds generally fade first. Hearing aids work to fill in the holes in your hearing rather than just making everything louder. This selective strategy is much more beneficial for people with hearing loss.
- Whatever environment you find yourself, your hearing aids can calibrate to it. The acoustics of any given place will change depending on a list of factors. Some hearing aids can adjust to these changes automatically. A dedicated device or smartphone can calibrate hearing aids that don’t do it automatically. You will avoid fewer places because you will be capable of hearing better in a wider variety of places as your hearing aids make little adjustments.
Simply put, these capabilities are vital components of correctly managing hearing loss. In most cases, personal amplifiers don’t have these features.
The right deal for your ears
Along with a diminished ability to hear, neglected hearing loss can also lead to cognitive decline. With amplifiers, you’re very likely to do more damage to your hearing because the device doesn’t distinguish frequencies and will most likely turn everything up to unsafe levels. And who needs to do that?
Unless your hearing loss is being caused by earwax, hearing aids and certain surgeries are the only approved treatment options for hearing loss at this time. 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 over 40% with neglected hearing loss. The good news is, there are budget friendly options. We can help.
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077