Congratulations! You’ve just become the proud owner of hearing aids – an incredible piece of modern tech. But new hearing aid users will wish somebody had informed them about certain things, just like with any new technology.
Let’s go over nine common mistakes new hearing aid wearers make and how you can steer clear of them.
1. Not knowing how hearing aids work
Or, more specifically, know how your hearing aid works. It most likely has exclusive features that considerably improve the hearing experience in different settings such as restaurants, movie theaters, or walking down the street.
Your wireless devices, like smartphones and televisions can probably sync wirelessly to your hearing aids. In addition, it may have a special setting that helps you hear on the phone.
If you use this advanced technology in such a rudimentary way, without learning about these features, you can easily become stuck in a rut. Hearing aids nowadays 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. Check out how well you hear by asking a friend or family member to help you.
As with anything new, it will get easier after a little practice. And your hearing experience will be much better than when you just turn the volume up and down.
2. Expecting immediate improvement in your hearing
It’s not unusual for a new hearing aid owner to think that their hearing will be optimal from the first day. This assumption is normally not how it works. It typically takes up to a month for most new users to get comfortable with their new hearing aids. But stay positive. They also say it’s very worth it.
Give yourself a few days, after getting home, to get accustomed to your new experience. It won’t be that much different than breaking in new shoes. Sometimes, you will need to go slow and wear your new hearing aids a little at a time.
Begin by just quietly talking with friends. It can be somewhat disorienting initially because voices may not sound the same. Ask your friends if you’re talking too loud and make the necessary adjustments.
Slowly increase the time you use your hearing aids and progressively 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 honest about your degree of hearing loss at your hearing assessments
In order to be sure you get the correct hearing aid technology, it’s important to answer any questions we may ask honestly.
If you have your hearing aid and realize that perhaps you weren’t as honest as you may have been, go back and ask to be retested. Getting it right the first time is better. The level and kind of hearing loss will determine the hearing aid styles that work best for you.
For instance, certain hearing aids are better for people with hearing loss in the high-frequency range. Others are better for those with mid-frequency hearing loss and so on.
4. Failing to have your hearing aid fitted
There are numerous requirements that your hearing aids need to simultaneously manage: they need to be comfortable on or in your ears, they need to be simple to put in and remove, and they need to amplify the sounds around you effectively. Your hearing aid fitting is meant to correctly calibrate all three of those variables for your individual needs.
When you’re getting fitted, you may:
- Have your hearing tested to determine the power level of your hearing aid.
- Have your ears precisely measured or have molds made (or both).
5. Not tracking your results
It’s highly recommended that you take notes on how your hearing aid performs and feels after you get fitted. Make a note if you are having trouble hearing in a large room. Make a note if one ear seems tighter than the other. Even make a note if everything feels great. With this knowledge, we can customize the settings of your hearing aid so it works at peak effectiveness and comfort.
6. Not foreseeing how you’ll use your hearing aids
Some hearing aids are resistant to water. Others, however, can be damaged or even destroyed by water. Some have state-of-the-art features you may be willing to pay more for because you take pleasure in certain activities.
We can give you some recommendations but you must choose for yourself. You won’t use your hearing aid if it doesn’t fit in with your lifestyle and only you know what features you will use.
You and your hearing aid will be together for several years. So if you really need certain functions, you shouldn’t settle for less.
A few more things to contemplate
- You may care about whether your hearing aid is able to be seen. Or, you may want to make a bold statement.
- Maybe you want a high degree of automation. Or perhaps you’re more of a do-it-yourself kind of person. Is an extended battery life important to you?
- To be completely satisfied, talk about these preferences before your fitting.
During the fitting process we can deal with many of the challenges with regards to lifestyle, fit, and how you use your hearing aids. Also, you may be able to try out your hearing aids before you commit to a purchase. This demo period will help you figure out which brand will be best for your requirements.
7. Not appropriately caring for your hearing aids
Moisture is a real issue for the majority of hearing aids. You might want to invest in a dehumidifier if you live in an extremely humid place. It’s not a good idea to store your hearing aid in the bathroom where people take showers.
Before you touch your hearing aid or its battery, be certain to wash your hands. The life of your hearing aid and the longevity of its battery can be impacted by the oils naturally found in your skin.
The hearing aid shouldn’t be allowed to collect earwax and skin cells. Instead, the manufacturer’s suggested cleaning procedures should be followed.
The life and function of your hearing aid will be improved by taking these simple steps.
8. Not getting spare batteries
Often, it’s the worst time when new hearing aid users learn this one. All of a sudden, when you’re watching your favorite show, your batteries die just as you’re about to learn “who done it”.
Your battery life depends, like any electronic device, on the external environment and how you use it. So always keep an extra set of batteries handy, even if you recently changed them. Don’t miss something important because of an unpredictable battery.
9. Neglecting your hearing exercises
You might assume that your hearing aids will do all of the work when you first get them. But the parts of your brain responsible for interpreting sound are also affected by hearing loss not only your ears.
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. For some individuals, this may happen quite naturally and this is especially true if the hearing loss developed recently. But for other people, a deliberate approach may be necessary to get your hearing back to normal again. A couple of typical strategies include the following.
Reading out loud
One of the most efficient ways you can restore those pathways between your ears and your brain is to spend some time reading out loud. It might feel a bit foolish at first, but don’t allow that to stop you. You’re practicing reconnecting the experience 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
If you don’t like the idea of reading something out loud yourself, then you can always go the audiobook route. You can purchase (or rent from the library) a physical copy of a book and the audiobook version together. Then, you read along with the book as the audiobook plays. This does the same work as reading something out loud, you hear words while reading them. This will teach the language parts of your brain to understand speech again.
Resources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10900/
