Hearing aids typically require a short transitions period before any benefit is discovered, unlike eyeglass which provide immediate positive results. At times, some people need a month or two to get used to how the hearing aids sound and feel.
It can be frustrating at first since new sounds are often sharp, shrill or tinny. When you go from hearing without hearing aids to wearing the aids for the first time, you are essentially altering the way your ears interpret sounds.
The longer hearing loss is present, the longer the brain has adjusted to hearing sound incorrectly or not at all. Thus, the transition period with new hearing aids is simply your brain relearning how to interpret certain sounds.
It can be difficult for some to get into a routine of wearing your hearing aids every day. Yours ears are not accustomed to having a foreign object on or in them. Independent research shows that once your ears have become accustomed to them, hearing aid usage can have a positive effect on everyday life such as earning power, relationships, and physical health.
Follow these five tips to help yourself start hearing better with hearing aids:
- Wear them, even when you don’t want to — It’s important that you wear your hearing aids every day so you’ll be comfortable with them in every environment. There are some environments which are tough to adjust to with hearing aids, but this just makes it all the more important for you to wear your hearing aids all the time. Allowing your brain and ears to learn how to work together again will only be possible if they have consistent exposure to sounds in your environment associated with everyday life. Wearing your hearing aids infrequently will keep your ears and brain from connecting correctly again, make adjusting to sounds harder and will slow down your ability to focus and adjust to multiple voices and sounds. By wearing your hearing aids more often, it gives your ears and brain the time it needs to adjust to hearing better with hearing aids.
- Keep an open mind, have a positive outlook — You’ll get much more out of your hearing aids when you go into it with an open mind and a positive attitude. Try to keep in mind all the quality-of-life benefits they provide when adjustments get overwhelming or frustrating. Keep your mind open to the fact that nothing is perfect and adjustments might need to be made to the hearing aids through multiple appointments with your Audiologist. In order to achieve better hearing with hearing aids, understanding that hearing loss effects your quality-of-life in many ways is a must.
- Learn all you can about your hearing loss — The more you know about your hearing loss, the easier it is to surpass the limitations of hearing sounds prior to hearing aids. Audiologist can only explain so much in one hearing health screening, so do your homework as well on hearing loss. Stay connected with our website, Facebook page, and blog for information regarding hearing loss, hearing aids, hearing aid features, tips for cleaning, using, adjusting and more to help yourself adjust quickly and easily.
- Set realistic expectations — Nothing cures hearing loss, but hearing aids can truly help you regain much of what you’re currently missing in regards to sound. There is no 100% true fix, but be sure to set yourself realistic expectations such as hearing better in one-on-one conversations, understanding speech better in noisy environments and other reasonable goals.
- Be patient — Like riding a bike, hearing aids take time to master. But once you do, wearing your hearing aids will be second nature. The benefits will be well worth the effort put into hearing better with hearing aids.
Get started now
If you’re ready to be one of the 90% of people who say wearing hearing aids has improved their quality of life, then contact us to schedule a hearing health exam with our Audiologist, Dr. Melissa W. Duthu at Nola Hearing. We are here to make the transition of hearing better with hearing aids a step in the right direction to improving your everyday life quality. Call 504-309-8322 today!
