As a basic rule, people don’t like change. Taking this into account, there can be a double edged sword regarding hearing aids: your life will go through a tremendous change but they also will allow exciting new opportunities. That level of change can be a challenge, especially if you’re somebody that enjoys the quiet comfort of your regular routine. New hearing aids can create a few particular difficulties. But making this change positive is primarily about understanding how to adjust to these devices.
Guidelines to Help You Adjust More Quickly to Your Hearing Aids
Whether it’s your first pair of hearing aids (congrats!) or an upgrade to a more robust set, any new hearing aid is going to be a significant improvement in how you hear. That could be quite a challenge depending on your situation. But your transition may be a bit easier if you follow these guidelines.
When You First Get Your Hearing Aids Only Wear Them Intermittently
The more you use your hearing aids, as a basic rule, the healthier your ears will stay. But it can be a somewhat uncomfortable when your getting used to them if you use them for 18 hours a day. You might try to build up your endurance by beginning with 8 hours and building up from there.
Listen to Conversations For Practice
When your brain first begins to hear sound again it will most likely need an adjustment period. During this transition period, it might be difficult to follow conversations or hear speech with clarity. But if you want to reset the hearing-language-and-interpreting part of your brain, you can try practicing techniques such as reading along with an audiobook.
Get a Fitting For Your Hearing Aids
One of the first things you’ll do – even before you receive your final hearing aids – is go through a fitting process. The fitting process assists in adjusting the device to your individual hearing loss, differences in the shape and size of your ear canal, and help improve comfort. You could require several adjustments. It’s crucial to be serious about these fittings – and to see us for follow-up appointments. When your hearing aids fit well, your devices will sit more comfortably and sound better. 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 working properly. If there’s too much feedback that can be painful. It can also be frustrating when the hearing aid keeps cutting out. These kinds of problems can make it overwhelming to adapt to your hearing aids, so it’s best to find solutions as soon as you can. Try these tips:
- Charge your hearing aids every evening or replace the batteries. When the batteries on your hearing aids begin to decrease, they normally do not work as effectively as they’re meant to.
- If you notice a lot of feedback, ensure that your hearing aids are properly seated 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 specialist to be sure that the hearing aids are properly calibrated to your hearing loss.
- Discuss any ringing or buzzing with your hearing specialist. Occasionally, your cell phone will cause interference with your hearing aid. In other cases, it may be that we need to make some adjustments.
Adapting to Your New Hearing Aids Has Its Benefits
Just as it could with new glasses, it will probably take you a bit of time to adjust to your new hearing aids. Hopefully, you will have a smoother and quicker transition with these recommendations. But if you stay with it – if you get yourself into a regimen with your hearing aids and really invest in adjusting to them – you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how it all becomes easy. But pretty soon you will be able to put your attention on what your hearing: like your favorite programs or music or the day-to-day conversations you’ve been missing. These sounds remind you that all those adjustments are worth it ultimately. And change is good.