As a basic rule, most people don’t like change. Taking this into consideration, there can be a double edged sword with hearing aids: your life will experience a tremendous change but they also will allow exciting new opportunities. That amount of change can be tricky, especially if you’re the type of person that has come to embrace the placid convenience of your daily routine. There are very specific hurdles with new hearing aids. But making this change a positive one is largely about knowing how to adjust to these devices.
Guidelines to Help You Adjust More Quickly to Your Hearing Aids
Your hearing will be considerably improved whether you are getting your first hearing aids or upgrading to a more powerful design. Depending on your individual circumstances, that could be a big adjustment. Following these guidelines might make your transition a bit more comfortable.
When You First Get Your Hearing Aids Only Wear Them Intermittently
As a general rule, the more you wear your hearing aids, the healthier your ears will stay. But it can be a somewhat uncomfortable when you’re breaking them in if you wear them for 18 hours a day. You might start by trying to wear your hearing aids for 8 hours intervals, and then gradually build up your endurance.
Practice Listening to Conversations
When you first begin wearing your hearing aids, your brain will most likely need a little bit of time to get accustomed to the idea that it’s able to hear sounds again. You might have a hard time hearing speech clearly or following conversations during this adjustment time. But if you want to reset the hearing-language-and-interpreting region of your brain, you can try practicing exercises like following along with an audiobook.
Have Your Hearing Aids Fitted
Even before you get your final hearing aids, one of the first things you will do – is go through a fitting process. Enhancing comfort, taking account of the size and shape of your ear canal, and adjusting for your individual hearing loss are all things that a fitting can help with. More than one adjustment may be required. It’s essential to come see us for follow-up appointments and to be serious about these fittings. When your hearing aids fit properly, your hearing aids will sit more comfortably and sound more natural. Adjustments to different environments can also be made by us.
Troubleshoot
Sometimes adapting to a new hearing aid is somewhat difficult because something’s not functioning quite right. If there is too much feedback that can be uncomfortable. It can also be infuriating when the hearing aid keeps falling out. These kinds of issues can make it overwhelming to adapt to your hearing aids, so it’s best to find solutions as soon as possible. Try these tips:
- Charge your hearing aids every day or exchange the batteries. When the batteries on your hearing aids begin to decline, they often don’t perform as efficiently as they’re intended to.
- Discuss any buzzing or ringing with your hearing expert. Sometimes, your cell phone can cause interference with your hearing aid. In other cases, it may be that we need to make some adjustments.
- If you notice a lot of feedback, make sure that your hearing aids are correctly sitting in your ears (it could be that your fit is just a bit off) and that there are no blockages (earwax for instance).
- Consult your hearing professional to double check that the hearing aids are properly calibrated to your hearing loss.
The Advantages of Adapting to Your New Hearing Aids
Just as it could with a new pair of glasses, it may take you a small amount of time to get used to your new hearing aids. We hope, with the help of these guidelines, that adjustment period will go a little bit more smoothly (and quickly). But if you stay with it – if you put yourself into a routine with your hearing aids and really invest in adjusting to them – you’ll be pleased by how it all becomes second-nature. But pretty soon you will be able to put your attention on what your listening to: like your favorite programs or music or the day-to-day discussions you’ve been missing. In the end, all these adjustments will be well worth it. And change is good.