Find the hearing aid that’s right for you

More and more baby boomers are experiencing premature hearing loss from exposure to loud sounds. The unfortunate thing is that many of them may be freaked out by hearing aids and are not willing to use them.

I know someone who’s slightly younger than me who has enjoyed loud music all her life. Finally it got to the point that she couldn’t hear conversation clearly. When she finally decided to get a hearing aid some time ago, it dramatically improved her life.

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What kind of hearing aid is right for you?

There are many kinds of hearing aids and many different price ranges from really inexpensive to several thousand dollars per ear. I’ve earned the ire of a lot of professional audiologists who hate me for telling people to go to hunting shops like Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s and buy devices for hunters that are essentially hearing aids.

You’ll pay anywhere from $12 an ear to a few hundred dollars per ear — a fraction of the cost you’d pay to get one from an audiologist.

The audiologists complain that someone could mask a problem that may need serious medical treatment by getting such a self-serve hearing aid. So there’s a definite caveat to my advice.

I once got one of my relatives a cheap hunter’s hearing aid. She was as unhappy with the cheap one as she was with the one that cost thousands of dollars. There’s obviously no magic bullet here.

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Audio amplifiers are worth a try

If you’re just having problems with directional hearing, you might want to try an audio amplifier. You can’t call these devices “hearing aids” because that’s a medical device. But they are really cheap!

One of my staffers recently got a pair from a Chinese seller on eBay. She had to wait 2 months for them to clear customs, but the price was right: $7.84 for a pair! Hearing aids usually cost thousands of dollars!

This is not something you would have fitted by a medical professional. But many people who have legitimate hearing aids don’t get around to having that professional fitting anyway. So if you’re interested in this ultra-cheap option, try these sellers:

• K-80 Best Sound Volume Amplifier Adjustable Tone Hearing Aids Ear Aid
• Small In The Ear Invisible Best Sound Amplifier Adjustable Tone Hearing Aids Aid