The healthcare market is going through some rather extreme transformations in the context of where you can get care. For example, while you once needed a doctor and a script to get a hearing aid, now you can skip the consult and go directly to a big box store like Costco to get a device. While it is convenient, it presents a variety of problems and is a harmful practice for many different reasons. We will explore those reasons and why a professional audiologist is the best for your hearing health.
Quality Products
A great reason to consider going to a professional audiologist rather than going to a big box store is that they can offer some of the best products on the market for hearing health. These instruments will be finely attuned to your hearing needs in order to allow you to have optimal hearing. While a big box store will be able to fit you for a device and sell it to you, they do not have the ability to adjust them to optimize your hearing. Also, you run the risk of having to pay for a low quality product that could suffer from interference or other type of low quality.
Professional Healthcare
Another reason that you will want to go to an audiologist rather than going to a big box store is that they can diagnose your hearing loss or limitations. Not only is this diagnosis crucial to your ability to get a working hearing aid, it can help to determine if you even need a hearing aid. After all, many forms of hearing loss are able to be treated without using a hearing aid device.
The individuals in the big box store have a single goal: to sell you a product and move onto the next customer. They are salespeople first, whereas an audiologist is a medical professional with the ultimate goal of providing the best care for the individual.
Lower Costs
Many people started going to the big box stores for hearing health coverage for two reasons: convenience and low cost. While it is hard to say that getting food shopping and a hearing aid in a single trip is anything but convenient, the low price is nothing more than a myth. Of course, the upfront costs will be much than a trip to an audiologist. However, the costs are loaded on the back end for devices and fittings, all of which will cost you more money than going to an audiologist. Keep in mind that you have a much better chance of having insurance being able to cover your hearing aid if you go to an audiologist and not a box store.
