\t\t\t\tYou may have seen ads on TV or looked at stores with low-cost hearing devices and thought to yourself; really what’s the difference between these hearing\u00a0instruments\u00a0and those that are higher priced?<\/p>\n
Well, thank goodness for research to help answer these unanswered questions! Professor Jerry Punch of the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders and Susanna Love Callaway, a lifelong education alumna, published their study on over-the-counter hearing\u00a0instruments\u00a0in a recent issue of the\u00a0American Journal of Audiology<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n The low-cost devices may appeal to some with hearing impairment because of the significant cost differences, Punch said. “But our research found that the low-cost aids generally don\u2019t meet the fitting requirements to help a hearing-impaired person and could potentially damage a person\u2019s hearing.\u201d (as taken from the Hearing Review)<\/p>\n The research is important to consumers, Callaway said. \u201cAside from being of extremely poor quality, very low-cost hearing aids\u2014those under $100\u2014have the potential to damage you hearing because they send very loud sounds into the ear. The study\u2019s mid-range hearing aids ($100-500) were of higher quality and were not considered a safety hazard.”<\/p>\n