Hearing aids are a worthy financial investment. Hearing aids may seem a bit un-affordable at first. Even so, at the time you buy a house you never determine the cost and say, “well being homeless is cheaper!” The true value of hearing aids goes beyond the price.
Ask yourself, when shopping for costly items, “what’s the price of deciding against hearing aids and what will I truly get out of them?” As it turns out, there is a monetary cost for choosing not to get hearing aids. These costs must factor into your decision as well. Ultimately hearing aids will save you money. Here’s why.
Cheaper Hearing Aids Become More Expensive Than You Might Think
If you have shopped around for hearing assistance devices, you realize that there are bargain, apparently less expensive devices available. You could possibly even pick up a hearing aid from the web costing even less than a dinner.
You get what you pay for in quality with over-the-counter hearing devices. When you get these devices, you are really buying an amplification device much like earbuds, not an actual hearing aid. They only crank up the sound around you, that includes unwanted noise.
With cheap hearing devices you don’t get the most important features, such as customized programming. Getting your hearing aid keyed to correct your distinct hearing issue can prevent it from becoming more serious and provide you with excellent hearing quality.
There are also bargain batteries which low grade devices employ for power. What this implies is you can be expecting to spend cash for batteries on a regular basis. You could even need to change the batteries more than once every day. Plan on carrying a lot of replacement batteries because the inexpensive ones usually quit when you need them the most. When you add up the amount of money you spend for the new batteries, are you really saving anything?
Higher quality hearing aids, on the other hand, have superior technology and use less power. Rechargeable batteries in the high-quality hearing aids means no more purchasing new batteries.
Issues at Work
Opting to go without hearing aids, or purchasing cheap ones will be costly at work. A 2013 study published in The Hearing Journal says that adults with hearing loss usually earn less money – as much as 25 percent less, and are more likely to be without a job.
What accounts for this? There are several factors involved, but the dominant factor is that communicating is necessary in pretty much every profession. You must be able to listen to what your supervisor is saying to deliver results. You should be capable of listening to customers to assist them. When you spend the discussion attempting to figure out exactly what words people are saying, you’re probably going to miss out on the general content. To put it simply, if you can’t interact in conversations, it is very hard to succeed at work.
The effort to hear what people are saying at the workplace exacts a toll on you physically, as well. Even if you do manage to get through a workday with sub-par hearing, the stress associated with worrying about if you heard something correctly plus the energy needed to hear just enough will leave you fatigued and stressed out. Stress impacts:
- Your immune system
- Your ability to sleep
- Your relationships
- Your quality of life
These all have the potential to have an affect on your work efficiency and decrease your earnings as a consequence.
Regular Trips to The ER
There are safety issues which come with hearing loss. Without correct hearing aids, it is hazardous for you to go across the street or drive a car or truck. How can you avoid something if you can’t hear it? How about environmental warning systems like a tornado warning or smoke alarm?
For a lot of jobs, hearing is a must have for workplace safety practices like construction sites or processing plants. That means that not wearing hearing aids is not only a safety hazard but something that can restrict your career options.
Financial safety is a factor here, also. Did the cashier say that you owe 25 dollars or 85? What did the salesperson say about the features of the microwave oven you are looking at and do you need them? Maybe the lower cost model is the better choice for you, but it’s hard to tell if you can’t hear the clerk discuss the difference.
The Health of Your Brain
One of the most crucial problems which come with hearing loss is the increased possibility of getting dementia. The New England Journal of Medicine has found that Alzheimer’s disease costs sufferers above 56,000 dollars per year. Dementia makes up about 11 billion dollars in Medicare expense annually.
Hearing loss is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and other kinds of dementia. It has been calculated that a person with serious, untreated hearing loss increases their chances of brain impairment by five fold. A moderate hearing loss carries three times the possibility of getting dementia, and even a minor hearing issue doubles your risk. Hearing aids will bring the chances back to a regular amount.
Without a doubt a hearing aid will probably cost a little more money. If you examine all the concerns that come with not having one or buying a cheaper device, it’s clearly a prudent monetary investment. Make an appointment with a hearing specialist to learn more.