It is a smart financial choice to buy hearing aids. Hearing aids may appear a little un-affordable at first. And yet, at the time you buy a home you never see the cost and declare, “well being homeless is less expensive!” Beyond that, if you go beyond the price tag, you will probably discover that hearing aids are an all around smart financial investment.
When shopping for a big-budget item like this you really need to ask yourself, “what do I get from wearing hearing aids and what’s the expense of not having them?” As it so happens, there is a financial cost for choosing not to purchase hearing aids. Your final decision really should also take these costs into account. Over time hearing aids will save you money. Here’s why.
Over Time, Cheap Hearing Aids Will end up Being More Costly
There definitely are bargain hearing aids available which seem less expensive. Actually, if you shopped online, you could purchase a hearing aid for less money than you spend on dinner.
You get what you pay for in quality with over-the-counter hearing devices. What you are really getting isn’t a hearing aid but, an amplification device similar to earbuds or headphones. All they do is turn the volume up on the sound around you, including unwanted noise.
With cheap hearing devices you don’t get the most important features, such as customized programming. A high-quality hearing aid can be specially tuned to your hearing problem which can help prevent it from becoming worse.
Store bought hearing devices employ low-quality batteries also. What this implies is that you can be expecting to shell out cash for batteries frequently. When you use the amplification device every day, you might possibly wind up exchanging the battery up to a couple of times per day. When you need them the most, these cheap batteries regularly fail, so don’t forget to bring a lot of emergency batteries. When you add up the amount of money you pay for the new batteries, do you actually save anything?
Better electronics helps the higher quality hearing aids to have a much longer life. Many even have rechargeable batteries, cutting out the need for repeated replacements.
Issues at Work
Opting to not use hearing aids, or purchasing cheaper ones can be costly at your job. A 2013 study published in The Hearing Journal states that adults that have hearing loss often earn less money – as high as 25 percent less, and are more likely to be without a job.
Why is this? There are several factors involved, but the dominant factor is that communication is critical in almost every profession. You need to be able to listen to what your supervisor is saying to deliver results. You must be able to listen to clients to assist them. When you spend the entire conversation attempting to hear exactly what words people are saying, you’re probably going missing the total message. Quite simply, if you cannot participate in discussions, it is difficult to excel at work.
The battle to hear on the job will take a toll on you physically, also. And if you do manage to get through a workday with sub-par hearing ability, the anxiety that comes with worrying about whether you heard everything correctly and the energy required to hear as much as you can will make you fatigued and stressed out. Here are some impacts associated with stress:
- Your immune system
- Your ability to sleep
- Your relationships
- Your quality of life
All of these have the potential to have an impact on your work efficiency and reduce your earnings as a result.
Regular Trips to The ER
There is a safety concern that comes with the loss of hearing. Without proper hearing aids, it is unsafe for you to go across the street or drive a car. How can you stay clear of something if you can’t hear it? What about environmental warning systems like a twister warning or smoke detector?
For many jobs, hearing is a must for work-site safety practices such as building and construction zones or production factories. That means that not wearing hearing aids is not only a safety hazard but also something which can restrict your career choices.
Financial safety comes into play here, as well. Did the cashier say that you owe 55 dollars or 85? What did the salesperson say about the features of the Television you are looking at and do you need them? Perhaps the less expensive model would be all you would need, but it is difficult to know if you can’t hear the sales clerk explain the difference.
Brain Health
One of the most important problems which come with hearing loss is the increased possibility of dementia. The New England Journal of Medicine reports that Alzheimer’s disease costs individuals above 56,000 dollars a year. Dementia accounts for 11 billion dollars in Medicare costs yearly.
Hearing loss is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and various other types of dementia. It is estimated that an individual with significant, untreated hearing loss increases their chances of brain impairment by five fold. A moderate hearing loss carries three times the possibility of dementia, and even a minor hearing problem doubles your likelihood. Hearing aids will bring the chances back to a regular amount.
There is little doubt that a hearing aid will set you back a bit. When you look at all the problems associated with going without one or buying a cheaper device, it’s definitely a good financial choice. Make an appointment with a hearing specialist to learn more.