It's an age-old story: Your hearing just isn't what it used to be, so you take a trip to the audiologist and discover you have hearing loss. The audiologist then suggests that it’s time to purchase a pair of hearing aids. You begin looking at your options and quickly realize: Hearing aids are expensive. But is there a way around this? The audiologist, the hearing exam, the over-priced hearing aids? In a word, yes.
While a licensed audiologist will diagnose your specific hearing loss levels, you don't need an audiologist to get an idea of whether or not you have hearing loss. In fact, you can identify if you have hearing loss for yourself. Once you do that, you can purchase your own hearing aids through Advanced Affordable Hearing, and for a much lower price than those offered at your local hearing clinic.
We want to help guide you towards the next best steps in your journey to improved hearing. Let's explore how you can purchase quality hearing aids without taking a trip to the audiologist, while saving some money in the process.
The Hearing Loss Curve: Where Do You Land?
Hearing loss isn't one-size fits all: It exists on a curve, ranging from mild to significant. The most common form of hearing loss is high frequency hearing loss, which can easily be addressed with one of our hearing aids. To select a pair that's right for you, take a look at the following scenarios in order to determine the amount of hearing loss you may be experiening.
Noticeable to Significant Hearing Loss
Maybe you've started noticing that you experience difficulty hearing your children, grandchildren, or even your spouse. Of these people in your life, you find it especially difficult to understand the voices of the women and children. You've also noticed that you have trouble following conversations between two or more people. As a result, you find yourself missing words and asking for clarification multiple times.
If any of this sounds familiar, you might have noticeable to significant hearing loss.
Significant to Severe Hearing Loss
Recently, you've noticed that carrying a conversation, even one-on-one, is quite difficult. A room may be completely quiet, but you still struggle to understand what someone is saying to you. You often have to ask them to raise their voices, and repeat themselves multiple times, to grasp what's being said. Using the telephone has become something you often avoid, as it has become a struggle. At this point, understanding a conversation in a restaurant or a shopping mall has become a thing of the past.
Sound like you? You might have significant to severe hearing loss.
Severe to Profound Hearing Loss
Perhaps you've started to realize that you don't notice that someone is talking to you until you look at them. In fact, most conversations seem to pass you by these days because it's just too much of a struggle to hear them. Your friends and family complain that they have to yell in order for you to understand anything they're saying. They don't call you on the telephone anymore because they know you won't be able to hear them.
If you can relate to these scenarios, you might have severe to profound hearing loss.
Off to the Races: Let's Buy Some Hearing Aids!
Now that you've identified that you have mild to signficant hearing loss, you should feel confident in selecting your very own hearing aids through Advanced Affordable Hearing. Nevertheless, we understand you may experience some resistance to purchasing your first pair.
It can be easy to make excuses like, "Hearing aids are a sign of aging." But research suggests that hearing loss can contribute to issues like social withdrawal, depression, and even dementia. If you know that these issues can be caused by long-term hearing loss, it only makes sense to take the preventative action of purchasing hearing aids and improving your hearing.
Although this article is no replacement for a licensed audiologist, we hope we have helped you on your path to improved hearing. For a more comprehensive hearing test, please visit our Online Hearing Check.
Have more questions? We have answers!
If you'd like to learn more, don't hesitate to contact us.