Congratulations—you’re set to join the millions of Americans who have discovered how wearing hearing aids can make life much more exciting and rewarding. In the near future, you’ll be listening to sounds you’ve long forgotten, participating in stimulating discussions, and listening to music with enhanced discernment for each instrument.
But before you can get to all that, you’ll have to endure a brief period of adjustment to get used to your new hearing aids. Here are five suggestions to to assist you to push through this stage and to help you get the maximum benefit out of your new technology.
1. Visit a Hearing Care Professional
If you wish to have the best hearing attainable, there’s no way around the first step, which is visiting a hearing care expert. They can assist you in finding the right hearing aid that matches your hearing loss, lifestyle, and financial position. And, most of all, they can custom-fit and program your new hearing aid so that it’s optimized for your unique hearing loss.
Your hearing loss, like a fingerprint, is unique. That means every hearing aid should always be programmed differently—and this calls for the skill-set of a hearing care professional.
2. Give Your Hearing Aids a Chance
Your brand new hearing aids will take some getting used to. You’ll detect sounds you haven’t listened to in some time, your voice may sound different, and sound may in general just seem “off.” This is perfectly ordinary: you simply need time to adjust.
Start by making a commitment to wear your hearing aids for as much of the day as possible, for at a minimum a few weeks. Put them in when you wake up and take them out before bed. Although it may be awkward initially, you’ll adjust to better hearing in no time—and it will be well worth the effort.
If you discover that you’re having problems adjusting, arrange an appointment with your hearing care professional. Hearing aids can be fine-tuned, so you never have to give up on better hearing.
3. Start Small
We suggest adjusting to your hearing aids to start with in the comfort of your home. Attempt watching a movie or TV show and paying special attention to the conversation; take part in one-on-one conversations in a quiet room; and listen to music while attempting to identify various instruments and pitches.
Then, when you’re more comfortable, you can test your hearing aids out in more complex environments like at social gatherings, restaurants, and movie theaters. Modern hearing aids come with sophisticated features and environmental settings that can easily handle these increased listening demands—which segues perfectly to the fourth tip.
4. Learn the Advanced Features
After you’ve adapted to your hearing aids, you should continue to learn some of the more sophisticated features. With the help of your hearing specialist, you can learn how to maximize the functionality and convenience of your modern hearing aids.
Depending on your specific model, you’ll be able to do things like wirelessly stream music and phone calls straight to your hearing aids, control the volume from your mobile device or digital watch, and effortlessly change settings to maximize your hearing in different environments. Be sure to talk to your hearing specialist about all the features that may be helpful to you.
5. Care For Your Hearing Aids
Finally, you’ll want to make sure that you safeguard your hearing aids. This implies daily cleaning, appropriate storage, and managing your battery supply. Your hearing specialist will help you combine hearing aid maintenance and care into your daily routine so that it becomes automatic and effortless.
You’ll also want to get your hearing aids professionally cleaned and assessed one or two times annually to ensure proper performance for years to come.
We’d like to hear from you: if you presently have hearing aids, tell us about your experience! Let us know how you adapted to your hearing aids and any recommendations you’d give to those just getting started.