Are hearing aids honestly worth the cost? Hearing aids can appear a little costly at first. Even so, when you purchase a house you never determine the cost and declare, “well being homeless is cheaper!” What’s more, if you go beyond the cost, you may well see that hearing aids are an all around practical financial investment.
When buying a big-budget item like this you need to ask yourself, “what do I get out of having hearing aids and what’s the impact of not having them?” If you require hearing aids it will end up costing you more if you don’t purchase them. Your ultimate purchase needs to also take these expenses into account. In the long run hearing aids can save you money. Here’s why.
Bargain Hearing Aids Become More Expensive Than You Think
There certainly are low-cost hearing aids out there which appear more affordable. Actually, if you looked on the web, you might buy a hearing aid for less money than you spend on dinner.
You can expect to get what you pay for in quality when you purchase over-the-counter hearing devices. When you purchase these devices, you are in reality purchasing an amplification device similar to earbuds, not an actual hearing aid. The problem with these cheap devices is that they turn the background noises up.
With cheap hearing devices you don’t get the most important features, such as customized programming. A high-quality hearing aid can be especially tuned to your hearing issue which will help prevent it from becoming worse.
There are also bargain batteries that poor quality devices use for power. What this implies is that you can be expecting to spend money for batteries regularly. You could even have to switch out the batteries more than once every day. Plan on carrying a lot of extra batteries because the inexpensive ones usually fail when you actually need them the most. Do you really save cash if you need to exchange worn out batteries every day?
Better technology permits the better quality hearing aids to have a longer life. Rechargeable batteries in the higher quality hearing aids means no more purchasing new batteries.
Worries at Work
Deciding to go without hearing aids, or choosing cheaper ones will be costly at your job. A 2013 study published in The Hearing Journal reports that adults that have hearing loss often earn less money – as high as 25 percent less, and are more likely to be unemployed.
Why? There are quite a few factors involved, but the most common sense explanation is that communication is important in nearly every industry. You must be able to hear what your employer says to be able to give good results. You should be capable of listening to clients to help them. If you spend the entire discussion trying to hear precisely what words people are saying, you’re probably going to miss out on the entire message. Put simply, if you cannot interact in verbal interactions, it’s difficult to excel at work.
The effort to hear at work takes a toll on you physically, also. And if you do manage to make it through a day with sub-par hearing ability, the anxiousness that comes with worrying about whether you heard everything right plus the energy necessary to hear as much as you can will make you depleted and stressed out. Here are some impacts associated with stress:
- Your immune system
- Your ability to sleep
- Your relationships
- Your quality of life
These all have the possibility to have an impact on your job efficiency and reduce your earnings as a consequence.
More Trips to the ER
There is a safety concern that comes with hearing loss. Without right hearing aids, it becomes hazardous for you to cross the road or drive a vehicle. How can you avoid another vehicle if you can’t hear it? How about environmental safety systems like a tornado alert or smoke alarm?
For many jobs, hearing is a must for job-site safety like construction zones or production plants. That means that not wearing hearing aids is not only a safety risk but also something which can restrict your career options.
Financial safety is a factor here, too. Did the waitress say that you owe 25 dollars or 65? What did the salesperson tell you about the functions on the dishwasher you are looking at and do you actually need them? Perhaps the lower cost unit is the better choice for you, but it is hard to tell if you can’t hear the clerk describe the difference.
Brain Health
One of the most important concerns which come with hearing loss is the increased chances of dementia. The New England Journal of Medicine has found that Alzheimer’s disease costs individuals more than 56,000 dollars per year. Dementia makes up about 11 billion dollars in Medicare expense every year.
Hearing loss is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and various other forms of dementia. It has been estimated that a person with severe, neglected hearing loss increases their chances of brain deterioration by five fold. A modest hearing loss carries three times the possibility of dementia, and even a slight hearing problem doubles your likelihood. Hearing aids will bring the risk back to a regular amount.
Without a doubt a hearing aid will set you back a little more money. If you examine the many other troubles associated with going without one or buying a cheaper device, it’s definitely a financial decision. Make an appointment with a hearing aid specialist to find out more.