Typically when a person has mild to moderate hearing loss, hearing aids are the recommended route to take. However, hearing aids can be costly. Even most private health insurance plans don’t cover or fully cover hearing aids, and for those on Medicare are out of luck. According to a study done by Towson University and the Johns Hopkins Center on Aging & Health, they discovered that most adults with hearing loss do not wear a hearing aid. When they analyzed data from the 1999-2006 cycles of the National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys (NHANES), it revealed that less than 20% of adults with mild to moderate hearing loss wear a hearing aid. Luckily, it looks like there is another option, a hearing aid alternative for those who may not be able to afford hearing aids.
The price tag on hearing aids is enough to make anyone go into sticker shock, even for the cheapest pair. Due to the high price, it’s probably safe to say that the low numbers of hearing aid users are mostly due to cost. Even with good insurance, the price tag can still be too hefty for many to afford. However, this study put hearing aids to the test, and it was discovered that many people might not need a costly hearing aid for their mild to moderate hearing loss. It was revealed that certain brands of over-the-counter-sound-amplification devices are almost as effective as hearing aids that can cost about $1,900 apiece, and these devices only sell for a few hundred dollars.
This study that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), discovered that there was little difference in effectiveness between hearing aids that can cost about $1,900 per ear and some of the personal sound amplification products. Which only costs around 300 dollars. While many of these amplifiers don’t come with the advanced technology that a hearing aid can feature, for those on a budget, they may be the appropriate choice for hearing loss.
If you have mild to moderate hearing loss and have been on the market for a hearing aid, don’t discredit a personal sound amplification product if your budget does not support the purchase of a hearing aid. Be sure to partner with your doctor to help you find the best hearing aid alternative to fit your needs.
