Hearing Aids – Are They All the Same?

Hearing Aids – Are They All the Same?

When you or a loved one is diagnosed with significant hearing loss it is very likely that a pair of hearing aids will be needed. Hearing aids can cost from a meager hundreds to well over thousands in dollars. Why the big difference in cost and what makes one better than the other?

Are all these hearing aids the same or is there really a defining set of factors that justify a price tag?

Looking at the Basic Parts

In general, every pair of hearing aids uses the same parts. These parts are:

• A small microphone – this microphone will pick up every bit of sound that the ears are supposed to pick up on their own.
• An amplifier – this amplifier is designed to adjust the sounds and either makes them softer or louder. Of course being a hearing aid, most people adjust these to make sounds louder.
• Receiver/loudspeaker – this part is what delivers the amplified sound into the inner ear.
• Batteries – all hearing aids are electronic pieces so they require batteries to properly maintain function.
• Microchip processor – some of the newer hearing aids have built-in processors that program how the hearing aids operate. These processors have given way to far more advanced features never seen before such as the ability to focus on specific sounds or to drown out background noise.

Why Some are Cheap and Some are Costly

So what sets the difference between a cheaper hearing aid and a high cost hearing aid? For the most part it comes down to the level of adjustment and comfort.

A cheaper hearing aid works just like plain old 35mm speakers jacked to a computer. All you can really do is turn up the volume. With these cheaper aids it is likely that they are too small or too big, or the microphone picks up too much background noise/feedback, or they don’t amplify the sound enough. That’s because they are commercial, mass-produced hearing aids meant to work for everyone.

The more expensive ones cost that high because they are guaranteed to fit you, work for your specific medical needs, and have far more features and adjustments to ensure you get the most out of one pair of hearing aids.

When you get the more expensive pair of hearing aids the specialist will re-shape the ear-molds to guarantee a fit. This prevents the hearing aids from falling off and getting lost and it also ensures that they are comfortable to wear for long periods of time.

You’ll also have more features such as app compatibility on an iPhone, giving you the option to adjust what sounds the microphone picks up or how much background noise you need to listen to.

When It Comes Down to Your Health

If your health and capability to listen and speak is involved, don’t settle for a cheap hearing aid. Yes, the prescribed hearing aids can be expensive but they will be custom built specifically for your needs and that is something you cannot exchange for money.

For more details of our hearing test & assessment, and hearing aid services, please contact HK Hearing & Speech Centre.

Source:

HK Hearing & Speech Centre

Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,

and Hearing Aid Prescription

https://www.hkhearingspeech.com