Are hearing aids really worth the money? The cost is commonly a concern for people who deal with hearing loss. Even so, when you invest in a house you never learn the price and say, “well, being homeless is less expensive”! Cost isn’t the only value consideration with regards to purchasing hearing aids.
When shopping for a big-ticket item like this you really should ask yourself, “what do I get out of wearing hearing aids, and what’s the cost of not having them?” If you choose not to purchase hearing aids, there will be a financial cost, as it turns out. You should factor these costs into your choice as well. Keep in mind some good reasons why getting hearing aids will save you money in the long run.
You Will Find Yourself Spending More For Deciding on Cheaper Hearing Aids
You will most likely find, when you’re shopping for hearing aids, that there are cheaper hearing aids that will seem to save you money. You could even purchase a hearing aid off of the internet costing less than a dinner.
You get what you pay for in quality when you buy over-the-counter hearing devices. When you purchase these devices, you’re actually buying an amplification device similar to earbuds, not a real hearing aid. All of the sounds around, including ones you don’t want to hear, are cranked up.
Customized programming is the best function of a high-quality hearing aid, that you won’t get if you buy a low-cost hearing device. You can obtain an excellent sound by having a quality hearing aid tuned to address your distinct hearing needs.
Store bought hearing devices use cheap batteries also. It becomes very expensive when you have to keep swapping out dead batteries. You could end up switching out batteries a couple of times every day if you go with a cheap amplification device. You’ll need to bring spare batteries around because they will usually die when you need them most. Do you really save money if you need to exchange worn out batteries all of the time?
Higher quality hearing aids last much longer because they are made with more efficient electronics. Many models don’t even need replacement batteries at all because they’re rechargeable.
Career Issues
You could end up earning less if you decide not to use hearing aids or to wear cheap ones. A 2013 study published in The Hearing Journal says that individuals that have hearing loss make less money – up to 25 percent less, and often have a hard time maintaining a job at all..
Why? Communication is essential in every job and with the many factors involved, that one is prevalent. If you’re going to deliver good results, you have to be able to hear what your manager is saying. You should be capable of listening to clients so that you can assist them. If you spend the whole conversation attempting to figure out what words people are saying, you’re probably missing the entire content. To put it simply, if you cannot participate in conversations, it’s very hard to excel at work.
The ordeal of trying to hear on the job will take it’s toll on you physically, as well. You will find yourself physically worn down from the energy used trying to understand what people are saying and stressed out about whether you heard them correctly. Here are some effects of stress:
- Your ability to sleep
- Your relationships
- Your quality of life
- Immune health
All of these have the chance of impacting your work efficiency and decreasing your income as a consequence.
More Trips to The ER
There are safety issues which come with loss of hearing. It will be hazardous for you to drive a vehicle or cross the street if you don’t use quality hearing aids. If you’re unable to hear something, how can you steer clear of it? How about emergency warning systems like a tornado alert or smoke alarm?
For numerous jobs, hearing is a must for workplace safety like construction sites or production factories. So your safety, as well as your career options, will be restricted if you don’t use the quality hearing aids you need.
Financial safety is also a factor here. Did the server say that you owe 25 dollars or 85? What did the salesperson say regarding the features of the tv you’re checking out and do you require them? You may wind up spending more than you should for features you don’t actually need.
Brain Health
The increased chance of dementia is one of the most crucial issues with hearing loss. The New England Journal of Medicine reports that Alzheimer’s disease costs individuals more than 56,000 dollars each year. Dementia accounts for 11 billion dollars in Medicare expense annually.
The risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is a risk factor involved with hearing loss. It is calculated that a person who has severe, neglected hearing loss increases their possibility of brain impairment by five fold. The risk of getting dementia goes up by three times with moderate hearing loss and doubles with even mild hearing loss. Hearing aids bring the danger back to a normal level.
Of course, there is a cost to getting hearing aids. If you look at the costs you will encounter by deciding not to get hearing aids or buying cheaper ones, the choice is obvious. Make an appointment right away.