As a basic rule, most people don’t like change. Taking this into account, there can be a double edged sword with hearing aids: your life will undergo an enormous change but they also will allow exciting new possibilities. If your someone who enjoys a very rigid routine, the change can be hard. There are very specific challenges with new hearing aids. But learning how to adapt to these devices can help guarantee your new hearing aids will be a change you will enjoy.
Tips to Help You Adapt More Quickly to Your Hearing Aids
Whether it’s your first set of hearing aids (congrats!) or an improvement to a more robust pair, any new hearing aid will represent a significant enhancement in how you hear. That could be quite a challenge depending on your circumstances. But your transition may be a little bit smoother if you follow these guidelines.
Start Wearing Your Hearing Aids in Smaller Doses
The more you wear your hearing aids, as a basic rule, the healthier your ears will stay. But if you’re breaking in your very first pair, wearing your devices for 18 hours per day can be a little uncomfortable. You might try to build up your stamina by starting with 8 hours and increasing from there.
Listen to Conversations For Practice
When your brain is first able to hear sound again it will probably need an adjustment period. During this transition period, it may be tough to follow conversations or hear speech clearly. But if you want to reset the hearing-language-and-interpreting portion of your brain, you can try doing exercises such as following along with an audiobook.
Get a Fitting For Your Hearing Aids
One of the first things you’ll do – even before you get your final hearing aids – is go through a fitting process. Enhancing comfort, taking account of the shape and size of your ear canal, and adjusting for your personal hearing loss are all things that a fitting can help with. Several adjustments may be required. It’s crucial to take these fittings seriously – and to consult us for follow-up appointments. When your hearing aids fit properly, your devices will sit more comfortably and sound better. We can also assist you in making adjustments to different hearing conditions.
Troubleshoot
Sometimes when you first purchase your hearing aid something may not be working right and it becomes difficult to adapt to it. Maybe you hear too much feedback (which can be uncomfortable). It can also be infuriating when the hearing aid keeps cutting out. It can be hard to adjust to hearing aids because of these types of problems, so it’s best to find solutions as early as you can. Try these tips:
- Charge your hearing aids every night or exchange the batteries. When the batteries on your hearing aids begin to decline, they normally do not work as efficiently as they’re meant to.
- If you hear a lot of feedback, make sure that your hearing aids are correctly seated in your ears (it could be that your fit is just a little off) and that there are no obstructions (such as excess earwax).
- talk about any buzzing or ringing with your hearing professional. At times, your cell phone will cause interference with your hearing aid. In other situations, it could be that we have to make some adjustments.
- Consult your hearing expert to double check that the hearing aids are correctly calibrated to your loss of hearing.
Adjusting to Your New Hearing Aids Has Its Benefits
It could take a bit of time to adjust to your new hearing aids just as it would with a new pair of glasses. Hopefully, with the help of these tips, that adjustment period will go a little bit more smoothly (and quickly). But if you stay with it – if you get yourself into a routine with your hearing aids and really invest in adapting to them – you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how it all becomes easy. But before too long you will be able to place your attention on what your listening to: like the day-to-day discussion you’ve been missing or your favorite tunes. These sounds will remind you that all those adjustments are worth it in the end. And sometimes change is not a bad thing.