As a general rule, people don’t like change. Experienced through that perspective, hearing aids can represent a double-edged sword: your life will experience a tremendous change but they also will bring exciting new possibilities. If your someone who appreciates a very rigid routine, the change can be hard. There are very particular hurdles with new hearing aids. But making this change a positive one is primarily about learning how to adjust to these devices.
Tips to Help You Adjust More Quickly to Your Hearing Aids
Your hearing will be considerably improved whether you are moving to your first hearing aids or upgrading to a more powerful model. Depending on your individual situation, that could represent quite an adjustment. But your transition may be a little bit smoother if you follow these tips.
Start Wearing Your Hearing Aids in Smaller Doses
The more you use your hearing aids, as a basic rule, the healthier your ears will stay. But if you’re breaking in your very first pair, using your devices for 18 hours a day can be a little uncomfortable. You could try to build up your endurance by beginning with 8 hours and increasing from there.
Practice Listening to Conversations
When your brain is first able to hear sound again it will likely need a transition period. During this transition period, it might be hard to follow conversations or make out speech clearly. But if you want to reset the hearing-language-and-interpreting portion of your brain, you can try practicing exercises like following along with an audiobook.
Get a Fitting For Your Hearing Aids
One of the initial things you’ll do – even before you get your final hearing aids – is go through a fitting process. Maximizing comfort, taking account of the size and shape of your ear canal, and adjusting for your individual loss of hearing are all things that a fitting can help with. Several adjustments could be required. It’s crucial to take these fittings seriously – and to see us for follow-up appointments. When your hearing aids fit properly, your devices will sit more comfortably and sound more natural. We can also help you make adjustments to various hearing environments.
Troubleshoot
Sometimes when you first get your hearing aid something may not be working right and it becomes difficult to adjust to it. Maybe you hear too much feedback (which can be uncomfortable). Or perhaps the hearing aid keeps cutting out (which can be frustrating). These types of issues can make it hard to adjust to your hearing aids, so it’s a good idea to find solutions as early as possible. Try these tips:
- Consult your hearing specialist to be sure that the hearing aids are properly calibrated to your hearing loss.
- If you hear a lot of feedback, make sure that your hearing aids are properly sitting in your ears (it might be that your fit is just a bit off) and that there are no blockages (such as excess earwax).
- Charge your hearing aids every night or replace the batteries. When the batteries on your hearing aids begin to wane, they often don’t perform as effectively as they’re intended to.
- talk about any ringing or buzzing with your hearing professional. Sometimes, your cell phone can cause interference with your hearing aid. In other cases, it could be that we have to make some adjustments.
Adjusting to Your New Hearing Aids Has Its Benefits
Just as it would with new glasses, it might take you a small amount of time to get used to your new hearing aids. Ideally, with the help of these suggestions, that adjustment period will proceed somewhat more smoothly (and quickly). But if you stick with it – if you get yourself into a routine with your hearing aids and really invest in adjusting to them – you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how it all becomes second-nature. But before too long you will be able to place your attention on what your listening to: like your favorite shows or music or the daily interactions you’ve been missing. Ultimately all these adjustments will be well worth it. And change is good.