Have you ever said the following: “Hearing aids are too expensive,” “Hearing aids are all the same” or “Hearing loss is normal for my age”?
These common misconceptions are dangerous because they can cause you to ignore your hearing loss or to purchase an ineffective product.
Don’t be misinformed. Even with a small budget, you can still afford reliable hearing aids. Take the advice of a professional.
My name is Dr. Judy Huch, and I have my doctorate in audiology. Below are my tips for saving money on hearing aids while choosing the right prescription.
“Hearing aids are too expensive.”
What if I told you that you have hearing aid benefits that you don’t know about–benefits that can save you hundreds of dollars on hearing aids? The number of hearing aid benefits that go unused every year is monumental. As with most benefits, hearing aid insurance benefits expire at the end of the calendar year. Because of this, you should use them while you have them.
At Oro Valley Audiology, our dedicated team of experts can help you understand your benefits. Just give us a call!
If your insurance plan or provider doesn’t offer hearing aid insurance, you may consider using HSA or FSA dollars. At Oro Valley Audiology, we can help you use these dollars efficiently with no out-of-pocket costs. Without a high interest rate, these options can save you more money than traditional loans or credit cards.
Additionally, your yearly hearing evaluation is almost always completely covered. Hearing tests help patients identify hearing problems early. Even if you don’t have hearing loss, you should obtain a hearing evaluation because it gives you the opportunity to discuss your likelihood of needing hearing aids in the future.
“Hearing aids are all the same.”
Believing that all hearing aids work exactly the same can lead to the purchase of cheap and ineffective products. Many patients have come to my office disappointed by a device that they purchased from a large retailer or from a discounted service that their insurance provided.
A way to avoid this disappointment is to familiarize yourself with the company before you buy. You want to work with an audiologist that you can trust—one who will focus on your needs rather than on making a sale. The last thing I want for you or your loved one is to waste money on ineffective hearing aids.
Take the advice of Laurel Christensen, chief audiology officer at GN Hearing, a hearing aid manufacturer: “Don’t buy off the TV or the internet. This is a health issue, and you do need to see a professional.”
At Oro Valley Audiology, we counsel patients about their hearing loss and explain how wearing hearing aids will benefit their lives. We also take ear measurements to ensure proper fit and great performance.
Tip: When scheduling an appointment with your provider, ask, “Do you take real ear measurements?”
“Hearing loss is normal for my age.”
By far, this misconception is one of the most common. My patients often ask me, “Is my hearing normal for my age?” My response is always the same: “Whether you’re 5 or 105, you need to hear above 25 dB to hear all the sounds in normal speech. That standard does not change with age.”
When patients ask those types of questions, they’re implying they don’t need amplification because hearing loss is a normal part of life. Since they see other people their age not wearing amplification, they assume that they, too, can go without it. “My hearing does not bother me,” some say.
In my opinion, the excuse “It does not bother me” is something we tell ourselves to avoid the problem at hand. Rather than addressing the issue, we normalize hearing loss and file the problem away until it becomes a bigger issue—an issue that’s too big and problematic to fix through amplification.
The truth is that any hearing loss that impedes your ability to understand speech is a BIG problem. The longer your hearing loss goes untreated, the harder adjusting to amplification will be.
Is it time for your next hearing evaluation? Call us at 520-825-4770 to set up an appointment!
