People typically don’t like change. Experienced through that prism, hearing aids can represent a double-edged sword: your life will go through a huge change but they also will bring exciting new possibilities. That amount of change can be a challenge, especially if you’re the type of person that has come to embrace the placid comfort of your daily routine. New hearing aids can create some distinct challenges. But making this change a positive one is primarily about knowing how to adjust to these devices.
Guidelines to Help You Adapt More Quickly to Your Hearing Aids
Your hearing will be dramatically improved whether you are getting your first hearing aids or upgrading to a more powerful design. That could be challenging depending on your circumstances. But your transition may be a bit smoother if you follow these tips.
Begin Using Your Hearing Aids in Smaller Doses
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 use them for 18 hours a day. You might begin by trying to use your hearing aids for 8 hours at a time, and then steadily build up your endurance.
Listen to Conversations For Practice
When your brain first begins to hear sound again it will most likely need a transition period. You may have a difficult time hearing speech with clarity or following conversations during this adjustment time. But if you want to reset the hearing-language-and-interpreting portion of your brain, you can try practicing exercises such as reading along with an audiobook.
Have Your Hearing Aids Fitted
Even before you get your final hearing aids, one of the first things you will have to do – is go through a fitting process. Maximizing comfort, taking account of the shape and size of your ear canal, and adjusting for your individual loss of hearing are all things that a fitting can help with. Several adjustment could be required. It’s important to come see us for follow-up appointments and to be serious about these fittings. Your hearing aids will sound more natural and will sit more comfortably if they fit well. Adjustments to various environments can also be made by us.
Troubleshoot
Sometimes adjusting to a new hearing aid is a bit difficult because something’s not functioning properly. If there’s too much feedback that can be uncomfortable. It can also be frustrating when the hearing aid keeps cutting out. It can be overwhelming to adjust to hearing aids because of these types of problems, so it’s a good idea to find solutions as soon as possible. Try these tips:
- talk about any ringing or buzzing with your hearing professional. Occasionally, your cell phone will cause interference with your hearing aid. In other instances, it could be that we need to make some adjustments.
- If you hear a lot of feedback, ensure that your hearing aids are correctly seated in your ears (it might be that your fit is just a bit off) and that there aren’t any blockages (such as excess earwax).
- Consult your hearing expert to double check that the hearing aids are properly calibrated to your hearing loss.
- Charge your hearing aids every night or replace the batteries. When the batteries on your hearing aids begin to decrease, they often don’t work as efficiently as they’re intended to.
Adjusting to Your New Hearing Aids Has Its Benefits
Just as it could with new glasses, it might take you a bit of time to adapt to your new hearing aids. We hope, 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. And once that occurs, you’ll be able to devote your attention to the things you’re actually listening to: like your favorite programs or music or the day-to-day interactions you’ve been missing. In the end, all these adjustments will be well worth it. And change is good.