As a basic rule, most people don’t like change. Taking this into account, there can be a double edged sword regarding hearing aids: your life will undergo an enormous change but they also will allow exciting new opportunities. That degree of change can be challenging, specifically if you’re the type of person that has come to embrace the placid convenience of your regular routine. New hearing aids can create a few distinct difficulties. But learning how to adjust to these devices can help guarantee your new hearing aids will be a change you will enjoy.
Tips 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 powerful pair, any new hearing aid will be a significant improvement to how you hear. That could be challenging depending on your situation. Utilizing these guidelines may make your transition a little 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 be. But it can be a little uncomfortable when your getting used to them if you use them for 18 hours a day. You could try to build up your endurance by beginning with 8 hours and increasing from there.
Listen to Conversations For Practice
When you first begin wearing your hearing aids, your brain will likely need some time to get accustomed to the idea that it’s able to hear sounds again. During this adjustment period, it might be tough to follow conversations or make out speech with clarity. But practicing with listening or reading drills (like reading along to an audiobook) can help the language-hearing-and-interpreting part of your brain reassert itself.
Get a Fitting For Your Hearing Aids
One of the initial things you’ll do – even before you receive your final hearing aids – is go through a fitting process. Increasing comfort, taking account of the size and shape of your ear canal, and adjusting for your personal loss of hearing are all things that a fitting helps with. You may require several adjustments. It’s crucial to take these fittings seriously – and to see us for follow-up appointments. When your hearing aids fit properly, your hearing aids will sit more comfortably and sound more natural. Adjustments to different conditions can also be made by us.
Troubleshoot
Sometimes adapting to a new hearing aid is somewhat difficult because something’s not working properly. Possibly you hear too much feedback (which can be painful). It can also be frustrating when the hearing aid keeps falling out. It can be difficult to adjust to hearing aids because of these types of issues, so it’s best to find solutions as early as you can. Try these tips:
- Discuss any buzzing or ringing with your hearing expert. Occasionally, your cell phone can cause interference with your hearing aid. In other cases, it may be that we need to make some adjustments.
- Consult your hearing professional to be sure that the hearing aids are properly calibrated to your loss of hearing.
- Charge your hearing aids every evening or replace the batteries. When the batteries on your hearing aids begin to decrease, they often don’t perform as efficiently as they’re intended to.
- If you notice a lot of feedback, ensure that your hearing aids are correctly sitting in your ears (it could be that your fit is just a little off) and that there are no blockages (earwax for instance).
Adjusting to Your New Hearing Aids Has Its Benefits
Just as it would with a new pair of glasses, it might take you a small amount of time to get used to your new hearing aids. Ideally, with the help of these tips, that adjustment period will proceed a little bit more smoothly (and quickly). But you will be surprised how simple it will become if you stick with it and get into a routine. But before too long you will be able to place your attention on what your hearing: like your favorite programs or music or the day-to-day discussions you’ve been missing. These sounds remind you that all those adjustments are worth it in the end. And change is good.