Who doesn’t love getting a good bargain? But when it has to do with your health, be careful what you buy and keep your eye on the small details.
We know, it can be confusing, the names are rather similar, but hearing aids and hearing amplifiers are not equivalent. And your overall hearing and health could suffer serious consequences if you make the wrong decision about this.
What is a hearing amplifier?
A little device that goes inside of your ear, a hearing amplifier raises the volume of outside sound. These tend to be really simple, one-dimensional devices which the government classifies as personal sound amplification devices. The volume of the world is essentially turned up.
Because of their one-size-fits-all strategy, hearing amplifiers are not appropriate for individuals who have moderate to extensive hearing loss.
Clear difference between hearing aids and personal amplifiers
It begins to become pretty obvious that hearing aids are not the same as hearing amplification devices when you consider that amplifiers are not recommended for people with even moderate hearing loss. Of course, hearing aids are recommended for people who cope with hearing loss.
Both types of devices can raise the volume of outside sound. The main difference between the two devices is how sophisticated that amplification is.
- Picking out and amplifying speech is one of the primary functions of a hearing aid. Because communication is so central in our lives and also because of the uneven way hearing loss progresses, this is an essential function. So this function has been prioritized by hearing aid producers who have put substantial resources into enhancing it. In order to make sure voices come through clearly even in a noisy room, state-of-the-art 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. Some hearing aids can adjust to these changes automatically. A dedicated device or smartphone can calibrate hearing aids that don’t do it automatically. By making small adjustments to the settings of your hearing aid, you’re able to hear better in a wider variety of settings, meaning there will be fewer places you wish to avoid.
- With hearing aids, only specific frequencies of sound are boosted. Because hearing loss often progresses wavelength by wavelength. Frequencies at the higher and lower end of the scale are generally the first to go. Rather than making everything louder, hearing aids work to plug holes in what you’re hearing. This selective strategy is far more beneficial for people who suffer from hearing loss.
Bottom line, these capabilities are crucial elements of correctly managing hearing loss. In most cases, personal amplifiers don’t have these abilities.
The best deal for your ears
Along with a decreased ability to hear, neglected hearing loss can also result in mental decline. 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 wants to do that?
Right now, the only recommended treatments for hearing loss, if it’s not a result of earwax, are certain surgeries and hearing aids. You won’t save any money in the long run by neglecting to get treatment for your hearing loss. Neglected hearing loss has been shown to increase your general healthcare costs over 40%. Fortunately, there are affordable solutions. We can help.
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References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20373077