Congratulations! Modern hearing aids are an amazing piece of technology, and you’ve just become the proud owner of a shiny new set. But, as with all new devices, there will be things that hearing aid wearers wish somebody had told them.
Let’s examine how a new hearing aid user can eliminate the 9 most common hearing aid mistakes.
1. Failing to comprehend hearing aid functionality
To put it simply, learn your hearing aid’s features. The hearing experience will be significantly improved if you know how to utilize advanced features for different settings like on the street, at the movies, or in a restaurant.
Your wireless devices, like smartphones and televisions can most likely connect wirelessly to your hearing aids. It might also have a setting that makes phone conversations clearer.
If you use this advanced technology in such a basic way, without understanding these features, you can easily get stuck in a rut. Modern hearing aids do more than simply increase the volume of outside sounds.
Practice wearing your hearing aid in different settings in order to learn how to attain the clearest sound quality. Ask a friend or family member to help you so you can test how well you can hear.
As with anything new, it will get easier after a little practice. And your hearing experience will be much better than when you simply turn the volume up and down.
2. Thinking that your hearing will immediately improve
Consistent 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’re completely comfortable with their hearing aid. But stay positive. They also say it’s really worth it.
After you get home, give yourself a couple of days to get used to the new experience. It’s like breaking in a new pair of shoes. You may need to wear it in short intervals.
Start by just quietly talking with friends. Familiar voices may sound different at first, and this can be disorienting. Ask your friends if you’re talking too loud and make the required adjustments.
Slowly increase the time you wear your hearing aids and gradually add new places to visit.
Be patient with yourself, and you’ll have many wonderful hearing experiences to look forward to.
3. Not being honest about your degree of hearing loss during your hearing exam
In order to be sure you get the ideal hearing aid technology, it’s essential to answer any questions we may ask truthfully.
If you already have your hearing aid and realize that maybe you weren’t as honest as you may have been, come back and ask to be retested. Getting it right the first time is better. The level and kind of hearing loss will identify the hearing aid styles that will work best for you.
As an example, individuals with hearing loss in the high frequency range will need a particular type of hearing aid. Others will be better for people with mid-frequency hearing loss and so on.
4. Neglecting to have your hearing aid fitted
Your hearing aids need to handle several requirements at the same time: they need to be comfortable on or in your ears, they need to be easy to put in and remove, and they need to boost the sounds around you efficiently. All three of those variables will be addressed during your fitting.
When you’re getting fitted, you may:
- Do hearing tests to calibrate the appropriate power for your hearing aid.
- Have your ears accurately 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 once you get fitted. If you have trouble hearing in big rooms, make a note of that. If your right ear feels tighter than your left, note that. Even make a note if everything feels great. This can help us make personalized, minute adjustments to help your hearing aids reach peak comfort and efficiency.
6. Not planning how you will utilize your hearing aid ahead of time
Some hearing aids are resistant to water. Others, however, can be damaged or even ruined by water. Some have sophisticated features you may be willing to pay more for because you enjoy certain activities.
You might ask our opinion but the decision is yours. You won’t use your hearing aid if it doesn’t fit in with your lifestyle and only you know what features you will utilize.
You and your hearing aid will be together for a number of years. So you don’t want to regret settling when you really would have benefited from a certain function.
Some other things to consider
- To be completely satisfied, discuss these preferences before your fitting.
- You might prefer something that is extremely automated. Or maybe you’re more of a do-it-yourself kind of individual. Is an extended battery life important to you?
- You may care about whether people can see your hearing aid. Or perhaps you want to wear them with style.
Many issues that arise regarding fit, lifestyle, and how you use your hearing aids can be addressed through the fitting process. What’s more, many hearing aid manufacturers will allow you to try out the devices before making a decision. This trial period will help you figure out which brand will be best for your requirements.
7. Failing to take proper care of your hearing aid
The majority of hearing aids are really sensitive to moisture. You might want to get a dehumidifier if you live in an extremely humid place. It’s a bad idea to keep your hearing aid in the bathroom where people take showers.
Always wash your hands before handling the hearing aid or batteries. The life 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, clean it based on the manufacturer’s guidelines.
The life and function of your hearing aid will be increased by taking these simple steps.
8. Not having spare batteries
New hearing aid users often learn this lesson at the worst times. When you’re about to find out who did it at the crucial moment of your favorite show, your batteries quit without warning.
Your battery life depends, like any electronic device, on the external environment and how you use it. So even if you recently replaced your batteries, keep an extra set with you. Don’t allow an unpredictable battery to cause you to miss out on something important.
9. Not practicing your hearing exercises
When you first get your hearing aids, there may be a presumption, 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 impacted by hearing loss, it’s also the regions of your brain in charge of interpreting all those sounds.
Once you’ve got your hearing aids, you’ll be able to start the work of rebuilding some of those ear-to-brain pathways and connections. For some people, this might happen quite naturally and this is especially true if the hearing loss developed recently. But for other people, a deliberate approach might be required to get your hearing firing on all cylinders again. A couple of common strategies include the following.
Reading out loud
One of the best ways you can recreate those pathways between your ears and your brain is to spend some time reading out loud. Even if you feel a little weird at first you should still practice like this. You’re practicing reconnecting the experience of saying words with the sounds they make. The more you create those connections, the better your hearing (and your hearing aid) will work.
Audiobooks
You can always use audiobooks if reading out loud isn’t attractive to you. You can get a physical copy of the book and an audio copy. Then, you read along with the book while the audiobook plays. 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 understand speech again.
Resources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10900/