You finally got those new hearing aids. You’re so excited to be able to dive into your social life again. Now, you won’t be missing elements of conversations or going through awkward transitions. But there’s a problem: everything sounds a little bit off.
The reason for this is that it will often take some time before you get used to your new hearing aids. This can be a frustrating transition. You were so looking forward to enjoying your hearing again and it feels like it’s hard to be patient.
Luckily, there are a few tips that can help speed up the transition process. Pretty soon, with a little practice, you will be paying attention to what you’re hearing rather than your hearing aids.
Tips that help you start Slowly
Your brain will take a little while to get accustomed to hearing certain sounds again no matter how sophisticated your hearing aids are. Use these tips to proceed slowly and purposely give your ears time to adapt.:
- At first, try to focus on one-on-one conversations: You may be setting yourself up for disappointment if you use your hearing aids in a noisy environment on the first day. It’s just that it’s tough for your ear and brain to deal with focusing on all those different voices. By starting out with one-on-one conversations you will make the transition easier and also get a little extra practice.
- Use your hearing aids for a short duration: A few hours at a time is the most you should wear your hearing aids when you first get started. They might feel a little uncomfortable at first (this is normal), so it’s good to start slowly. You can begin to use your hearing aids for longer periods as you become accustomed to them.
- Use your hearing aids only around the house at first: You’ll be less likely to experience noise pollution at home and you will be able to have a better amount of control over the sounds you’re hearing. This means you can focus on one voice at a time.
Get additional practice with these tips
Much like any other skill (and hearing is a skill, among other things), there are certain activities that can help you practice with your hearing aids. You may even have some fun!
- Simply practice hearing: That’s right: sit in a quiet space and let your ears do the hearing. You can practice by concentrating on trying to hear the refrigerator running or the cat meowing in another room or the birds singing outside.
- Read along with the printed book while you listen to the audiobook.: This is a very similar exercise (and allows you to have some fun reading while you’re at it). Your brain will learn to make connections between words and sounds by using this read along strategy.
- Turn on closed-captions when you watch TV: It’s easy: put your hearing aids in, turn on the television, and watch your favorite program. As you read the words you’ll also be hearing the characters speak, and your brain will begin to remember what all these words sound like. This can give you some practice hearing and getting used to speech.
Improve your hearing health with these tips
Keeping your ears as healthy as you can, after all, is one of the principal purposes of hearing aids. And there are some tips you can do to keep your ears happy as you get accustomed to using your new hearing aid:
- If you’re experiencing any pain, make sure you document it and report it to us.: Because it shouldn’t hurt to wear hearing aids. So if you’re experiencing any pain or something’s not fitting right, it’s important to let us know as soon as possible.
- Keep visiting us: There might be a temptation to believe that once you’ve got the right hearing aids, you won’t need to see us anymore. Nothing could be further from the truth. We can continue to watch your hearing, make certain the fit is comfortable, and make any required adjustments. It’s essential to continue with these follow up visits.
Take your time, and build up to full-time hearing aids
Your objective here will be to work your way up to wearing your hearing aids all of the time. A slow and progressive approach is often effective, but everyone’s different. Understanding the best ways to get comfortable with your new hearing aids is something we can assist you with.
Implementing these tips (and tips like them) can help ensure that you enjoy having your hearing aids and that you keep using them because they continue to improve your life.