Hi there! Great question here.
I also spent a lot of time at the start researching inexpensive options to hear better. It seems any hearing aid that’s worth while will cost you over $1000 for the pair.
There are PSAP’s for less money though… basically they are quiet sound amplifiers so they will increase the volume of soft sounds for you. Problem with these is if you get a really cheap one, then it makes everything louder and it’s hard to understand what the heck is happening around you. There is a newer one out that has background noise reduction… so it will boost soft sounds, but not background noise like when you are in a busy coffee shop. It’s called the Otofonix Personal Sound Amplifier. If you Google it, there website should show up for you. I think they cost roughly $500 (not sure about that), but from all the reviews I’ve read - seems well worth the money. People seem actually really happy with them. Oh and they have some sort of full return policy for 30 days. So that’s nice.
I also came across another lower priced hearing product called the Etymotic Bean. The reviews I’ve read people reallllly like this one too. May be worth Googling.
Best of luck to you. I hope you find something that you can afford that works for you.