For the money you pay for hearing aids, are they actually worth it. The cost is commonly a worry for people who suffer from hearing loss. Still, when you invest in a house you don’t see the price and say, “well, being homeless is less costly”! The real value of hearing aids is about a lot more than the price.
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 consequence of not having them?” If you choose not to get hearing aids, there will be a monetary cost, as it turns out. You should factor these expenses into your decision too. Bear in mind some good reasons why purchasing hearing aids will save you money over time.
If You Decide to Purchase Cheaper Hearing Aids, You Will End up Spending More
While searching the hearing aids market, you will undoubtedly come upon cheaper devices which appear to be less costly. If you shop for hearing aids on the internet, you will probably find some that cost less than a nice dinner.
Regarding over the counter hearing aids, you get what you pay for. When you purchase these devices, you’re actually purchasing an amplification device like earbuds, not a genuine hearing aid. All of the sounds around, including noises you don’t want to hear, are cranked up.
Personalized programming is the best feature of a high-quality hearing aid, that you don’t have if you buy a cheap hearing device. If your hearing aids can be programmed to manage your specific hearing needs, you will have a much higher quality experience.
The batteries in over the counter hearing aids are also low quality. Shelling out large amounts of extra cash on batteries can be expensive. You could wind up changing out batteries a couple of times each day if you go with a cheap amplification device. The battery is most likely to die when you need it most, also, so prepare to bring lots of extras around with you wherever you go. Do you really save money if you have to replace worn out batteries all of the time?
Higher quality hearing aids last much longer because they are made with more efficient electronics. Some models even have rechargeable batteries, eliminating the need for repeated replacements.
Career Problems
Deciding to not use hearing aids, or using cheap ones will be costly at your job. A 2013 study published in The Hearing Journal says that people with hearing loss don’t make as much money – up to 25 percent less, and are more likely to be jobless.
Why? There are lots of factors involved, but communication is vital in just about every industry and that’s the major factor. If you’re going to deliver good results, you have to be able to hear what your boss is saying. You should be capable of listening to clients so that you can help them. You’ll probably end up missing the whole content of the conversation if you are always trying to hear what people are saying. The bottom line is that it’s nearly impossible to succeed if you can’t be a part of the conversation.
There will also be a physical toll from struggling to here while at work. You will find yourself physically worn down from the energy spent trying to make out what people are saying and stressed out about whether you heard them correctly. Here are some effects of stress:
- Health of your relationships
- Your ability to sleep
- Your overall quality of life
- Your immune system
As a consequence, your income will decline due to the impact on your work efficiency.
Needing to go to the Emergency Room more frequently
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. How can you stay clear of something if you can’t hear it? And you chance not hearing a public warning alert system such as a smoke alarm or severe storm warning alarm.
For a good number of jobs, hearing is a necessity for workplace safety like job-sites or production factories. So your safety, as well as your career options, will be limited if you don’t use the quality hearing aids you require.
Financial security is also a factor here. Did the cashier say that you owe 25 dollars or 85? What did the sales representative say about the functions of the tv you’re looking at and do you require them? You might wind up paying more than you should for features you don’t actually need.
Brain Health
One of the most crucial issues that come with hearing loss is the increased risk of dementia. The New England Journal of Medicine reports that each year people spend as much as 56,000 dollars dealing with Alzheimers disease.Dementia accounts for 11 billion dollars in Medicare costs annually.
Hearing loss is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and numerous other types of dementia. Someone who has ignored their hearing loss for a long time increases their risk of brain impairment by five fold. The chance of getting dementia increases by three times with modest hearing loss and doubles with even minor hearing loss. Hearing aids reduce these dangers.
Obviously, there is a price to getting hearing aids. If you examine the costs you will confront by deciding not to buy hearing aids or purchasing cheaper ones, the choice is clear. Consult a hearing care specialist to learn more about hearing aids.