Who doesn’t love finding a good bargain? But when it involves your health, be careful what you buy and pay attention to the little details.
The names “hearing aid” and “hearing amplifier” may seem similar but they are actually completely different devices. And making the wrong selection could have important implications for your hearing and your overall health.
What is a hearing amplifier?
A hearing amplifier is a little device that, when placed in your ear, raises the volume of the sounds around you. These are usually really simple, one-dimensional devices which the government classifies as personal sound amplification devices. A hearing amplifier is like cranking the volume of the world up.
These devices are generally not recommended for individuals with moderate to significant hearing loss because of their one-size-fits-all strategy.
Distinct difference between hearing aids and personal amplifiers
It starts to become pretty apparent that hearing aids aren’t the same as hearing amplification devices when you recognize that amplifiers are not recommended for people with even moderate hearing loss. Hearing aids, obviously, are recommended for people who suffer from hearing loss.
Both kinds of devices can raise the volume of external sound. The biggest difference between the two devices is how cutting edge that amplification is.
- Picking out and amplifying speech is one of the primary functions of a hearing aid. To some extent, that’s due to the irregular way hearing loss develops, but it’s also because communication is such an important function of your hearing. So this function has been prioritized by hearing aid manufacturers who have put significant resources into improving it. In order to make certain voices can be heard clearly even in a crowded room, sophisticated technology and algorithms are bundled inside of modern hearing aids.
- Whatever environment you find yourself, your hearing aids can tune in to it. The acoustics of any given place will change depending on a lengthy list of factors. These adjustments can even happen 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 locations because you will be able to hear better in a wider variety of settings as your hearing aids make minute adjustments.
- Hearing aids are made to select and magnify certain frequencies of sound. That’s because people normally lose their hearing one frequency at a time. Either high-frequency sounds or low-frequency sounds commonly fade first. Rather than making everything louder, hearing aids work to plug holes in what you’re hearing. This selective strategy is much more beneficial for people with hearing loss.
To put it bluntly, properly treating hearing loss depends on these capabilities. Usually, personal amplifiers don’t have these abilities.
Finding the best solution at an affordable price
Along with a diminished ability to hear, untreated hearing loss can also lead to cognitive decline. Because amplifiers don’t differentiate between frequencies, if you raise the volume enough to hear what you’re missing, you’ll likely have it up too loud for other wavelengths….and damage your hearing further. And that’s not good for anyone.
Right now, the only recommended treatments for hearing loss, if it’s not a result of earwax, are some surgeries and hearing aids. You won’t save any money long term by neglecting to get treatment for your hearing loss. Neglected hearing loss has been shown to increase your general healthcare costs more than 40 percent. Fortunately, there are affordable solutions. Just ask us.
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077