Congratulations! You’ve just become the proud owner of hearing aids – a great piece of modern technology. But, as with all new devices, there are things that hearing aid owners wish somebody had told them.
Let’s go over nine typical mistakes new hearing aid wearers make and how you can avoid them.
1. Not learning how hearing aids work
To put it simply, learn your hearing aid’s features. The hearing experience will be greatly improved if you know how to use advanced features for different settings like on the street, at the movies, or in a restaurant.
It may be able to connect wirelessly to your smartphone, TV, or stereo. In addition, it may have a special setting that helps you hear on the phone.
If you use this sophisticated technology in such a basic way, without understanding these features, you can easily get stuck in a rut. Hearing aids these days can do more than make the sound louder.
Practice using your hearing aid in different settings in order to learn how to get the clearest sound quality. Ask a friend or family member to help you so you can check how well you can hear.
After a bit of practice, as with anything new, it will get easier. Just turning the volume up and down won’t even come close to giving you the hearing experience that utilizing these more sophisticated features will.
2. Thinking that your hearing will automatically improve
In line with number one, many new hearing aid users think their hearing will be optimal as they walk out of the office. This is an incorrect assumption. Some say it takes a month or more before they are entirely comfortable with their hearing aid. But don’t get discouraged. The time you take is well worth it according to those who are persistent.
Give yourself a few days, after getting home, to get used to your new situation. It won’t be that much different than breaking in new shoes. You may need to use it in short intervals.
Start in a calm setting with a friend where you’re just talking. Familiar voices might not sound the same at first, and this can be disorienting. Ask your friends if you’re speaking too loud and make the necessary adjustments.
Slowly increase the time you use your hearing aids and gradually add new places to visit.
You will have wonderful hearing experiences ahead of you if you can only be patient with yourself.
3. Not being truthful about your level of hearing loss during your hearing appointment
Responding honestly to the questions during your hearing exam will ensure you get fitted with the optimum hearing aid technology.
If you have your hearing aid and realize that perhaps you weren’t as honest as you could have been, come back and ask to be retested. But it’s easier if you get it right the first time. The hearing aid type and style that will be ideal for you will be determined by the degree and kind of hearing loss you’re experiencing.
For example, some hearing aids are better for people with hearing loss in the high-frequency range. People who are dealing with mid-range hearing loss will need different technology and etc.
4. Failing to have your hearing aid fitted
Your hearing aids need to manage several requirements at the same time: they need to be comfortable on or in your ears, they need to be simple to place and remove, and they need to boost the sounds around you effectively. Your hearing aid fitting is meant to properly calibrate all three of those variables for your personal requirements.
During hearing aid fitting sessions, you may:
- Have your hearing tested to determine the power level of your hearing aid.
- Have your ears accurately measured or have molds made (or both).
5. Not tracking your results
Once you’ve been fitted, it’s important to take notes on how your hearing aid performs and feels. If you have trouble hearing in large rooms, make a note of that. Make a note if one ear seems tighter than the other. Even note if everything feels right on. This can help us make custom, minute changes to help your hearing aids achieve optimum comfort and effectiveness.
6. Not thinking about how you will utilize your hearing aid in advance
Water-resistant hearing aids are available. However, water can severely damage others. Maybe you take pleasure in certain activities and you are willing to pay extra for more sophisticated features.
You might ask our opinion but the decision is yours. Only you know which state-of-the-art features you’ll actually use and that’s worth investing in because if the hearing aids don’t fit in with your lifestyle you won’t use them.
You’ll be wearing your hearing aid for a long time. So if you really need certain functions, you shouldn’t settle for less.
A few more things to think about
- You might prefer something that is extremely automated. Or maybe you like having more control over the volume. How much battery life will you need?
- How obvious your hearing aid is may be something you’re worried about. Or, you might want to make a bold statement.
- To be completely satisfied, talk about these preferences before your fitting.
Throughout the fitting process we can deal with many of the challenges with regards to lifestyle, fit, and how you use your hearing aids. In addition, many hearing aid makers will let you demo the devices before making a decision. This test period will help you figure out which brand will be best for your requirements.
7. Neglecting to take proper care of your hearing aid
Moisture is a significant challenge for most hearing aids. If where you live is very humid, acquiring a dehumidifier might be worth the money. Keeping your hearing aid in the bathroom where people bathe may not be the best idea.
Consistently wash your hands before handling the hearing aid or batteries. The performance of your hearing aid and the longevity of its battery can be impacted by the oils naturally present in your skin.
The hearing aid shouldn’t be allowed to accumulate earwax and skin cells. Instead, clean it based on the manufacturer’s instructions.
The life and function of your hearing aid will be increased by taking these basic steps.
8. Failing to have a spare set of batteries
Frequently, it’s the worst time when new hearing aid users learn this one. When you’re about to discover who did it at the crucial moment of your favorite show, your batteries die without warning.
Like most electronic devices, battery life varies depending on how you use it and the outside environment. So even if you recently changed your batteries, keep an extra set with you. Don’t allow an unpredictable battery to cause you to miss something significant.
9. Not practicing your hearing exercises
When you first get your hearing aids, there may be an assumption, and it’s not always a baseless assumption, that your hearing aid will do all the heavy lifting. But it’s not only your ears that are affected by hearing loss, it’s also the parts of your brain responsible for interpreting all those sounds.
Once you get your hearing aids, you’ll be able to begin the work of rebuilding some of those ear-to-brain pathways and links. This might take place quite naturally for some individuals, particularly if the hearing loss was somewhat recent. But for other people, an intentional strategy might be required to get your hearing back to normal again. A couple of common strategies include the following.
Reading out loud
One of the most efficient ways you can recreate those pathways between your ears and your brain is to spend some time reading out loud. It may feel a bit silly at first, but don’t let that stop you. You’re practicing reconnecting the feeling of saying words with the sounds they make. The more you establish those connections, the better your hearing (and your hearing aid) will work.
Audiobooks
You can always try audiobooks if reading out loud isn’t attractive to you. You can get a physical copy of the book and an audio copy. Then as the audiobook plays, you can read along. You’ll hear a word as you’re reading it just like reading out loud. This will train the language parts of your brain to hear speech again.
Resources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10900/
