Hearing Aids Vs. PSAPs: Which is the Best Choice to Treat Hearing Loss?
Cleveland, OH (PRWEB) March 11, 2016 -- Personal Sound Amplification Products, or PSAPs, at first glance look just like hearing aids—albeit with a significantly lower price tag. It’s natural for patients with hearing loss to then question if they can achieve the same results from PSAPs at a fraction of the cost of a hearing aids.
It’s a fair question, but the answer is an unequivocal no. To help patients understand why PSAPs should not be used to treat hearing loss, Cedar Audiology Associates has published an article titled 5 Reasons To Choose a Hearing Aid Over a PSAP.
In the article, Cedar Audiology Associates explains that PSAPs are not hearing aids and should not be used to treat hearing loss. In fact, according to the FDA, PSAPs are ““intended to amplify environmental sound for non-hearing impaired consumers. They are not intended to compensate for hearing impairment.”
While hearing aids are regulated medical devices used to treat hearing loss, PSAPs are meant for individuals with normal hearing that desire additional amplification, such as for bird watching, as one example.
Hearing aids differ from PSAPs in other important respects as well. For instance, hearing aids are programmable while PSAPs are generally not. This means hearing aids can amplify sound according to each patient’s unique hearing loss, whereas PSAPs amplify all sound, including background noise.
PSAPs also lack several of the advanced features of hearing aids, such as speech enhancement, background noise reduction, and more. So while PSAPs are less expensive, they typically cost the patient more in the long run as hearing aids are eventually purchased due to dissatisfaction with PSAP performance.
About Cedar Audiology Associates, Inc.
Cedar Audiology Associates, Inc. is a full-service audiology practice that has been serving the Cleveland Ohio area for 31 years. The practice offers comprehensive hearing care services to help members of the local community hear better, live better, and reconnect with loved ones.
Contact
Helene Levenfus, Au.D.
Cedar Audiology Associates, Inc.
216-220-4984
http://www.cedaraudiology.com
Helene Levenfus, Au.D., Cedar Audiology Associates, Inc., http://www.cedaraudiology.com, +1 (888) 727-7605, [email protected]
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