Congratulations! You’ve just become the proud owner of hearing aids – a wonderful piece of modern technology. But, as with all new devices, there are things that hearing aid wearers wish someone had told them.
Let’s go over nine common mistakes new hearing aid wearers make and how you can steer clear of them.
1. Neglecting to comprehend hearing aid functionality
Or, more specifically, know how your hearing aid works. It most likely has unique features that drastically enhance the hearing experience in different environments like restaurants, theaters, or walking down the street.
It may be able to sync wirelessly to your smartphone, TV, or stereo. It might also have a setting that makes phone calls clearer.
If you use this sophisticated technology in such a rudimentary way, without learning about these features, you can easily become stuck in a rut. Modern hearing aids do more than simply raise the volume of external sounds.
Practice using your hearing aid in different settings in order to learn how to get the clearest sound quality. Ask a family member or friend to help you so you can test how well you can hear.
Like anything new, it will get easier after a bit of practice. And your hearing experience will be much better than when you simply raise and lower the volume.
2. Thinking that your hearing will automatically improve
It’s not unusual for a new hearing aid users to think that their hearing will be perfect from the first day. This assumption is normally not how it works. It typically takes up to a month for most new users to become comfortable with their new hearing aids. But don’t get frustrated. They also say it’s very worth it.
After getting home, give yourself a couple of days to become accustomed to the new experience. It’s like breaking in a new pair of shoes. Usually, you will need to go slow and wear your new hearing aids a little at a time.
Start in a quiet setting with a friend where you are only talking. It can be somewhat disorienting at first because people’s voices may not sound the same. Ask your friends if you’re talking too loud and make the required adjustments.
Slowly begin to visit new places and use the hearing aid for more extended periods of time.
Be patient with yourself, and you’ll have lots of wonderful hearing experiences to look forward to.
3. Being untruthful about your degree of hearing loss at your hearing test
Responding honestly to the questions during your hearing test will ensure you get fitted with the correct hearing aid technology.
Go back and get retested if you realize you may not have been completely honest after you get your hearing aids. 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 level and kind of hearing loss you have.
For instance, certain hearing aids are better for people with hearing loss in the high-frequency range. Others are better for people with mid-frequency hearing loss and so on.
4. Not getting a hearing aid fitting
There are numerous requirements that your hearing aids need to simultaneously juggle: They need to efficiently amplify sound, they need to be simple to put in and take out, and they need to be comfortable in your ears. All three of those variables will be addressed during your fitting.
When you’re getting fitted, you might:
- Have your hearing tested to determine the power level of your hearing aid.
- Have molds of your ears made and measurements taken.
5. Not tracking your results
It’s important that you take notes on how your hearing aid performs and feels once you get fitted. Make a note if you are having a hard time hearing in a large room. Make a note if one ear seems tighter than the other. If everything feels great, make a note. With this knowledge, we can customize the settings of your hearing aid so it functions at peak efficiency and comfort.
6. Not planning how you will utilize your hearing aid ahead of time
Water-resistant hearing aids are available. Others, however, can be damaged or even ruined by water. 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 work with your lifestyle you won’t use them.
You and your hearing aid will be together for a number of years. So if you really need certain functions, you don’t want to settle for less.
A few more things to contemplate
- Maybe you want a high degree of automation. Or maybe you enjoy having more control over the volume. How much battery life will you require?
- How noticeable your hearing aid is may be important to you. Or, you might want to make a bold statement.
- To be entirely satisfied, discuss these preferences before your fitting.
During the fitting process we can address many of the challenges with regards to lifestyle, fit, and how you use your hearing aids. Also, you might be able to try out your hearing aids before you commit to a purchase. This test period will help you figure out which brand will be best for your requirements.
7. Not appropriately caring for your hearing aids
Most hearing aids are quite sensitive to moisture. If where you live is very humid, acquiring a dehumidifier may be worth the money. Keeping your hearing aid in the bathroom where people bathe may not be the best idea.
Before you touch your hearing aid or its battery, be certain to clean your hands. The performance of your hearing aid and the longevity of its battery can be impacted by the oils naturally found in your skin.
Don’t let earwax or skin cells accumulate on the hearing aid. Instead, the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning procedures should be followed.
Taking simple steps like these will improve the life and function of your hearing aid.
8. Not having spare batteries
Often, it’s the worst time when new hearing aid users learn this one. When you’re about to discover who did it at the critical moment of your favorite show, your batteries die without warning.
Like many electronic devices, battery life varies depending on how you use it and the external environment. So even if you recently replaced your batteries, keep an extra set with you. Don’t miss something special because of an unpredictable battery.
9. Not practicing your hearing exercises
When you first get your hearing aids, there might be an assumption, and it’s not always a baseless assumption, that your hearing aid will do all the work. But it’s not just your ears that are affected by hearing loss, it’s also the regions of your brain responsible for interpreting all those sounds.
Once you’ve got 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, especially if the hearing loss was rather recent. But others will need a more structured strategy to restore their ability to hear. 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 might feel a little foolish 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 appealing to you. You can buy (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 job as reading something out loud, you hear a word while you’re reading it. And that helps the hearing-and-language region of your brain get accustomed to hearing (and understanding) speech again.
Resources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10900/
