Do I Need a Hearing Aid or a Personal Sound Amplifier (PSAP)?
Posted by Tony R. on Nov 21st 2023
Do I Need a Hearing Aid or a Personal Sound Amplifier (PSAP)?
At some point most of us start to experience some form of hearing impairment. This can be a result from many environmental factors. The causes of your hearing impaired life may be many. Fortunately, there are many solutions available as well. The traditional solution is to go to your audiologist, take a hearing test, and purchase a traditional hearing aid. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that and I encourage you to do so if your medical coverage or financial situation can afford that.
However, many individuals cannot afford a hearing test, let alone a $3,000 to $5,000 hearing aid. This leads to them taking online hearing tests only to confirm what they already know. Which is, you need some form of hearing assistance. The good news is, if you are in this situation, there are affordable hearing devices available. These devices are referred to by many names. Names include sound amplifier, personal sound amplifier, psap, hearing impaired amplifier, and hearing aid alternative to name a few. These are the over the counter hearing devices to assist with hearing loss. They are not FDA-approved hearing aids but rather alternatives options to assist with a hearing loss.
These PSAP options are typically less expensive and available from a variety of manufactures. PSAP hearing devices come in digital options and analog options. From easy to use to Bluetooth tech, there is a PSAP for people of all ages and abilities. I have broken them down into three categories of simple, moderate, and tech savvy. Again, I insist that if you feel you need to visit an audiologist to assist with your hearing needs and complete a hearing test, schedule the appointment. For those of you who feel that a PSAP may work for you, I have included some hearing impaired solution options with product links below.
Top PSAP Hearing Devices
Below are the most popular PSAP hearing devices on the market
SuperEar 5000
Simple and inexpensive
PockeTalker Ultra
#1 BEST SELLING PSAP on the market
PockeTalker 2.0
New and Improved with T-Coil Technology
Sound World Solutions Sidekick
Bluetooth connectivity to your smartphone
PSAP Hearing Device Reviews
PockeTalker Ultra
"I heard about the Pocket Talker from my grandma's audiologist and thought we should give it a try. She already owns some pretty expensive hearing aids that don't seem to be working quite right for her. They amplify EVERYTHING making it hard for her to concentrate on the conversation at hand. The Pocket Talker has really helped in day-to-day exchanges, like family dinners, trips to the doctor or the bank and just one-on-one. I received the Pocket Talker very quickly from Liberty Health Supply and was able to get it up and running within minutes. Great customer service and pricing for such a helpful product!"
by Josh W. from St. Louis
SuperEar 5000
"So far so good. We have this piece of equipment in play when we serve the home bound communion. Two of our dear ladies can now hear the prayers and readings with the great pleasure they had in their youth.It is a blessing for us to see the brighter light in our elderly brothers and sisters thanks to this gear.It appears to me that the device is hefty enough to hold up to our demands. Time will tell.. We plan to purchase more if it does hold up."
by The Lord's Worker from Nevada
PockeTalker 2.0
"My 92-year-old uncle was in the hospital and his hearing aids were basically useless. (Without hearing aids, you have to speak very very loud for him to hear you.) One of the nurses told me about this device and said they had one on the floor, if he wanted to try it. They had an older model, but it worked great and was pretty much life-changing for him. Everyone could talk into the microphone and a normal voice and he didn't miss a word. This is the newest model which I purchased a few weeks ago for him and it's working great. I did buy him a different set of headphones since the one it comes with was sliding around his head. But now he prefers the earbuds which also come with the Pocket Talker. His hearing loss is substantial, but he hears very nicely with the volume just set to 1, and using the air buds. This was a great find. I even called Williams Sound to tell them how great their product is."
by Lighthouse1 on Amazon
Sound World Solutions Sidekick
"I bought these for my husband. He had bought a in-ear version and paid $3,000 for one ear and it never worked. The expensive aid was adjusted several times and even replaced once but after a very few months they were put into a drawer never to be worn again. I have bought two lesser cost amplifiers for him but they were uncomfortable or not the desired results. I then seen these on Amazon and decided to purchase the set of two. It came and my husband wore them for a day and was not real happy with the results, the second day he downloaded the app and adjusted the aids to his hearing loss. He now has nothing but praise for them. He also set up the Bluetooth that he enjoys a lot. One thing he has always said that he would prefer a aid that was rechargeable and this aid fits that bill. He likes the idea the the aid talks to him, it tells him in speech the sound level and when battery is getting low. Those are just the things he had mentioned. The app is very similar to the test given to him by the audiologist so it can customize the aid to you. I will update if there is a change."
by Lady_Koenig on Amazon