Who doesn’t enjoy getting a good bargain? But when it involves your health, be careful what you purchase and keep your eye on the small details.
The terms “hearing aid” and “hearing amplifier” might 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.
Hearing amplifiers
A little device that goes inside of your ear, a hearing amplifier increases the volume of external sound. Technically classified as personal sound amplification products by the government, these devices tend to be quite simple and one-dimensional. The volume of the world is basically turned up.
Because of their one-size-fits-all strategy, hearing amplifiers are not appropriate for individuals who have moderate to significant hearing loss.
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 pretty plain. Hearing aids, obviously, are recommended for individuals who suffer from hearing loss.
Both hearing aids and hearing amplifiers make things louder. But one of these devices has a much higher level of amplification technology and sophistication.
- Hearing aids are made to pick out and magnify specific frequencies of sound. That’s because people normally lose their hearing one wavelength at a time. Either high-frequency sounds or low-frequency sounds generally vanish 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 are specifically manufactured to help you hear speech. Because communication is so central in our lives and also because of the uneven way hearing loss develops, this is an important function. So this function has been prioritized by hearing aid makers who have put significant resources into improving it. In order to make sure voices can be heard clearly even in a noisy room, sophisticated technology and algorithms are packed inside of modern hearing aids.
- Whatever environment you find yourself, your hearing aids can tune in to it. There are a number of variables that will impact the exact acoustics of a space. These adjustments can even happen automatically with some modern hearing aids. Others can be tuned using a smartphone or a dedicated device. By making minute adjustments to the settings of your hearing aid, you’re capable of hearing better in a wider variety of environments, meaning there will be fewer locations you want to avoid.
To put it bluntly, properly managing hearing loss depends on these capabilities. In most cases, personal amplifiers don’t have these abilities.
The right deal for your ears
Neglected hearing loss can contribute to cognitive decline, not to mention increasingly diminished hearing abilities. With amplifiers, you’re likely to do more damage to your hearing because the device doesn’t differentiate frequencies and will most likely turn everything up to unsafe levels. And who needs to do that?
Unless your hearing loss is from earwax, hearing aids and certain surgeries are the only approved treatment options for hearing loss right now. You won’t save any money in the long run by failing to get treatment for your hearing loss. General healthcare costs have been found to increase by over 40% with neglected hearing loss. Luckily, there are affordable solutions. Just ask us.
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References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077