As a basic rule, most people don’t like change. Experienced through that prism, hearing aids can be a double-edged sword: your life will experience a tremendous change but they also will allow exciting new opportunities. If your someone who likes a very rigid routine, the change can be overwhelming. New hearing aids can introduce a few distinct difficulties. But knowing how to adapt to these devices can help guarantee your new hearing aids will be a change you will enjoy.
Here Are Some Quick Suggestion to Adjust to Your New Hearing Aids
Whether it’s your first set of hearing aids (congrats!) or an upgrade to a more robust set, any new hearing aid is going to represent a considerable improvement to the way you hear. Depending on your personal situation, that may be quite an adjustment. But your transition may be a little bit smoother if you follow these guidelines.
When You First Get Your Hearing Aids Only Use Them Intermittently
As a general rule, the more you wear your hearing aids, the healthier your ears will be. But it can be somewhat uncomfortable when you’re breaking them in if you wear them for 18 hours a day. You might start by trying to use your hearing aids for 8 hours at a time, and then steadily build up your stamina.
Listen to Conversations For Practice
When you first begin using your hearing aids, your brain will probably need some time to become accustomed to the concept that it can hear sounds again. During this adjustment period, it may be difficult to follow conversations or hear speech with clarity. But if you want to reset the hearing-language-and-interpreting portion of your brain, you can try doing exercises like following along with an audiobook.
Get a Fitting For Your Hearing Aids
Even before you get your final hearing aids, one of the first things you will have to do – is go through a fitting process. Improving comfort, taking account of the size and shape of your ear canal, and adjusting for your personal hearing loss are all things that a fitting can help with. You might need to have several adjustments. It’s crucial to consult us for follow-up appointments and to be serious about these fittings. Your device will sound more natural and will sit more comfortably if they fit properly. We can also assist you in making adjustments to various hearing environments.
Troubleshoot
Sometimes when you first purchase your hearing aid something isn’t working right and it becomes difficult to adjust to it. Possibly you hear too much feedback (which can be painful). Or the hearing aid keeps falling out (which can be infuriating). These kinds of problems can make it overwhelming to adapt to your hearing aids, so it’s best to find solutions as early as you can. Try these guidelines:
- If you hear 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 aren’t any blockages (earwax for instance).
- Talk over any ringing or buzzing with your hearing specialist. At times, your cell phone can cause interference with your hearing aid. In other cases, it may be that we have to make some adjustments.
- Charge your hearing aids every night or replace the batteries. When the batteries on your hearing aids begin to wane, they often do not perform as effectively as they’re intended to.
- Ask your hearing specialist to double check that the hearing aids are correctly calibrated to your hearing loss.
The Advantages of Adapting to Your New Hearing Aids
Just as it could with new glasses, it might take you a bit of time to get used to your new hearing aids. We hope, with the help of these suggestions, that adjustment period will go somewhat 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 long you will be able to put your attention on what your hearing: like the day-to-day discussion you’ve been missing or your favorite music. Ultimately all these adjustments will be well worth it. And sometimes change is not a bad thing.