Don’t Let Hearing Loss Hold You Back! Explore These All New Options

Baby boomers can be particularly hesitant to take steps to address hearing loss. Many do not think about it as a requirement like regular doctor or dentist visits. It can be seen as a definitive sign of aging and many just don’t like being branded with a brown plastic thing behind their ear. All of this on top of the fact that traditional hearing aids can cost upwards of $3,000 per ear.

How to Save Right Away

You know the reading glasses you find at the drugstore? There’s a hearing aid equivalent. While personal sound amplification products – or PSAPs – aren’t for everyone, they can perhaps help some. Unfortunately, they’re only good if you have mild hearing loss, and you do get what you pay for with them. Most of the ones that do a good job of canceling out background noise are around $200 to $300. They aren’t cheap, but they’re far less expensive than your traditional option.

Even though these devices will be able to help your hearing they will not be able to be marketed as hearing aids or as a product to “improve” hearing loss.

Curb Costs by Unbundling

Avoid going to an audiologist that bundles the cost of exams with the cost of hearing aids. Instead, try to pay for services as you go and buy your hearing aids separately. You may have to pay for each follow-up visit, but you’ll avoid spending money on services you don’t need.

Natural Look

If you’re hesitant to move forward with a hearing aid for cosmetic purposes, there are options for you. There’s a new class of hearing aid that’s completely invisible. It’s small enough to fit in your ear canal by your eardrum. Don’t worry you won’t be placing it in there all on your own. In order to receive this type of hearing aid, you’ll need to take a trip to the audiologist. They carefully place the hearing aid in order to avoid any possible injury to your sensitive canals.

These types of hearing aids also provide you with a more natural sound profile. Because they are so deep in your canal, the sound interacts with your ear in the same way it naturally would. Surprisingly, that ability is also a strong factor in how you’re able to detect where a sound is coming from.

With all the great things about these types of hearing aids, there are also setbacks. They are not good for people with severe hearing loss. Also, because of their small size, their life can be shorter than that of larger hearing aids.

Medicare is an essential resource for many Americans. It provides a base for coverage for private insurance is not an option.

Don’t Upgrade, Recalibrate

First of all, you should never buy the top-of-the-line anything, since you’re paying a premium for that luxury. Try things until you find one that is suitable. Once you’ve found hearing aids that work, instead of upgrading them to the latest and greatest, have them recalibrated instead.

The odds that a new pair will be all that much better are slim. Most people only notice minor improvements when opting for a newer pair. That’s why upgrading every year or two is often a waste of money.