Congratulations! Modern hearing aids are an impressive piece of technology, and you’ve recently become the proud owner of a shiny new pair. But, just like with all new devices, there are things that hearing aid owners wish somebody had told them.
Let’s go over nine common mistakes new hearing aid owners make and how you can steer clear of them.
1. Failing to understand hearing aid functionality
To put it simply, learn your hearing aid’s functions. It probably has exclusive features that drastically improve the hearing experience in different settings like restaurants, movie theaters, or walking down the street.
It may be able to connect wirelessly to your smartphone, TV, or stereo. It may also have a setting that makes phone conversations 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. Hearing aids these days can do more than make the sound louder.
To get the clearest and best sound quality, take some time to practice using the hearing aid in different settings. 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. And your hearing experience will be 10X better than when you just turn the volume up and down.
2. Thinking that your hearing will immediately improve
Consistent with number one, many new hearing aid owners think their hearing will be optimal as they leave the office. This assumption is normally not how it works. Some people say it takes a month or more before they are entirely comfortable with their hearing aid. But stay positive. The time you take is easily worth it according to those who are persistent.
After you get home, give yourself a couple of days to get used to the new situation. It’s like breaking in a new pair of shoes. Sometimes, you will need to go slow and use your new hearing aids a little at a time.
Start by just talking quietly with friends. Familiar voices may not sound the same initially, and this can be disorienting. Ask about your own voice volume and make adjustments.
Slowly start to visit new places and use the hearing aid for longer periods of time.
You will have wonderful hearing experiences ahead of you if you can just be patient with yourself.
3. Not being honest about your level of hearing loss during your hearing assessments
In order to be certain you get the proper hearing aid technology, it’s crucial 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 could have been, come back and get retested. Getting it straight the first time is easier. The hearing aid type and style that will be best for you will be determined by the degree and kind of hearing loss you’re experiencing.
As an example, individuals with hearing loss in the high frequency range will require a particular type of hearing aid. Others are better for those with mid-frequency hearing loss and so on.
4. Failing to have your hearing aid fitted
There are several requirements that your hearing aids need to simultaneously juggle: They need to effectively boost sound, they need to be simple to put in and remove, and they need to be comfortable in your ears. Your hearing aid fitting is intended to correctly calibrate all three of those factors for your personal requirements.
When you’re getting fitted, you might:
- Do hearing tests to adjust the correct power for your hearing aid.
- Have your ears precisely measured or have molds made (or both).
5. Not tracking your results
After you’ve been fitted, it’s worthwhile to take notes on how your hearing aid feels and performs. Make a note if you are having a hard time hearing in a big room. Make a note if one ear feels tighter than the other. Even note if everything feels great. With this information, we can customize the settings of your hearing aid so it works at peak efficiency and comfort.
6. Not foreseeing how you’ll utilize your hearing aids
Some hearing aids are water-resistant. 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 can ask our opinion but the decision must be yours. Only you know which advanced 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’ll be wearing your hearing aid for a long time. So you don’t want to regret settling when you really would have benefited from a certain function.
Some other things to take into consideration
- To be completely satisfied, discuss these preferences before your fitting.
- You might prefer something that is very automated. Or perhaps you’re more of a do-it-yourself kind of person. How much battery life will you require?
- You might care about whether your hearing aid is visible. Or, you may want to make a bold statement.
During the fitting process we can deal with many of the issues regarding lifestyle, fit, and how you use your hearing aids. What’s more, many hearing aid manufacturers will let you try out the devices before deciding. During this trial period, you’ll be able to get a sense of whether a specific brand of hearing aid would fit the bill.
7. Not correctly maintaining your hearing aids
Moisture is a significant issue for the majority of hearing aids. If where you live is very humid, getting a dehumidifier may be worth the investment. It’s a bad idea to store your hearing aid in the bathroom where everyone showers.
Consistently wash your hands before touching the hearing aid or batteries. The performance of your hearing aid and the duration of its battery can be impacted by the oils naturally found in your skin.
The hearing aid shouldn’t be allowed to accumulate earwax and skin cells. Instead, the manufacturer’s suggested cleaning procedures should be followed.
The life and function of your hearing aid will be increased by taking these simple steps.
8. Failing to have a set of spare batteries
New hearing aid wearers often learn this concept at the worst times. When you’re about to discover 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 always keep an extra set of batteries handy, even if you recently changed them. Don’t allow an unpredictable battery to cause you to miss out on something significant.
9. Neglecting your hearing exercises
You might assume that your hearing aids will do all of the work when you first get them. But it’s not only your ears that are impacted by hearing loss, it’s also the regions of your brain in charge of interpreting all those sounds.
You can start to work on restoring those ear-to-brain pathways after you get your new hearing aids. This may occur quite naturally for some people, especially if the hearing loss was somewhat recent. But others will need a more focused strategy to restore their ability to hear. The following are a couple of common strategies.
Reading out loud
Reading out loud is one of the best ways to rebuild those pathways between your ears and your brain. It might feel a little foolish at first, but don’t let that stop you. You’re doing the important work of linking the words (which you read) to the sound (which you say). The more you create 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 get a physical copy of the book and an audio copy. 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. This will teach the language parts of your brain to understand speech again.
Resources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10900/
