Congratulations! You’ve just become the proud owner of hearing aids – a wonderful piece of modern technology. But new hearing aid owners will wish someone had informed them about certain things, as with any new technology.
Let’s examine how a new hearing aid user can avoid the 9 most common hearing aid mistakes.
1. Not knowing how hearing aids work
Or, more specifically, understand how your hearing aid works. The hearing experience will be greatly enhanced if you know how to use advanced features for different settings like on the street, at the movies, or in a restaurant.
Your wireless devices, including smartphones and televisions can probably connect wirelessly to your hearing aids. Additionally, it may have a special setting that helps you hear on the phone.
If you don’t learn about these features, it’s so easy to get stuck in a rut by using your technologically-advanced hearing aid in a basic way. Hearing aids these days can do more than make the sound louder.
Practice using your hearing aid in different places in order to learn how to get the clearest sound quality. Ask a family member or friend to help you so you can check how well you can hear.
As with anything new, it will get easier after a bit of 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
It’s not uncommon for a new hearing aid owner to think that their hearing will be perfect from day one. This isn’t a correct assumption. It normally takes up to a month for most new users to get comfortable with their new hearing aids. But stay positive. The time you take is easily worth it according to those who are persistent.
Give yourself a few days, after you get home, to get used to your new experience. It won’t be that much different than breaking in new shoes. Usually, you will need to go slow and wear your new hearing aids a little at a time.
Begin by just talking quietly with friends. It can be a bit disorienting at first because voices might sound different. Ask your friends if you’re talking too loud and make the necessary adjustments.
Slowly increase the time you wear your hearing aids and gradually add new places to visit.
You will have wonderful hearing experiences in front of you if you can just be patient with yourself.
3. Not being truthful about your level of hearing loss during your hearing exam
Responding truthfully to the questions during your hearing exam will assure you get fitted with the proper hearing aid technology.
If you have your hearing aid and realize that maybe you weren’t as honest as you might have been, go back and get retested. Getting it right the first time is better. The hearing aid type and style that will be best for you will be determined by the degree and kind of hearing loss you have.
For example, certain hearing aids are better for individuals with hearing loss in the high-frequency range. People who have mid-range hearing loss will call for different technology and etc.
4. Neglecting to have your hearing aid fitted
There are several requirements that your hearing aids need to simultaneously juggle: they need to be comfortable on or in your ears, they need to be simple to put in and take out, and they need to boost the sounds around you efficiently. All three of those variables will be resolved during your fitting.
During hearing aid fitting sessions, you may:
- Undergo hearing tests to adjust the proper power for your hearing aid.
- Have your ears accurately 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. If you have trouble hearing in big rooms, make a note of that. If your right ear seems tighter than your left, note that. Even note if everything feels right on. This can help us make custom, tiny changes to help your hearing aids achieve peak comfort and effectiveness.
6. Not planning how you will use your hearing aid ahead of time
Some hearing aids are resistant to water. However, water can seriously damage others. 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 choice is yours. You won’t use your hearing aid if it doesn’t fit your lifestyle and only you know what features you will utilize.
You and your hearing aid will be together for several years. So you don’t want to regret settling when you really would have benefited from a certain feature.
A few more things to contemplate
- Perhaps you want a high level of automation. Or maybe you enjoy having more control over the volume. How much battery life will you require?
- To be completely satisfied, talk about these preferences before your fitting.
- You may care about whether your hearing aid is visible. Or perhaps you want to wear them with style.
Many challenges that come up regarding fit, lifestyle, and how you use your hearing aids can be resolved through the fitting process. In addition, many hearing aid makers will allow you to demo 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 meet your needs.
7. Not appropriately caring for your hearing aids
Moisture is a serious problem for the majority of hearing aids. If you live in a humid place, getting a dehumidifier might be worth the money. Storing your hearing aid in the bathroom where people bathe is a bad idea.
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 effected 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 improved by taking these basic steps.
8. Not having spare batteries
Often, it’s the worst time when new hearing aid owners learn this one. All of a sudden, when you’re watching your favorite show, your batteries quit just as you’re about to discover “who done it”.
Your battery life depends, like any electronic device, on the outside environment and how you use it. So always keep a spare set of batteries handy, even if you just changed them. Don’t miss something important because of an unpredictable battery.
9. Neglecting your hearing exercises
You may assume that your hearing aids will do all of the work when you first get them. But the parts of your brain in charge of interpreting sound are also impacted by hearing loss not just your ears.
Once you’ve got your hearing aids, you’ll be able to begin the work of restoring 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 for others, an intentional approach may be necessary to get your hearing firing on all cylinders again. A couple of typical strategies include the following.
Reading out loud
One of the most efficient ways you can recreate those connections between your ears and your brain is to spend some time reading out loud. Even if you feel a little odd at first you should still practice like this. You’re doing the important work of connecting 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
You can always try 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 as the audiobook plays. You’ll hear a word while you’re reading it just like reading out loud. This will train the language parts of your brain to hear speech again.
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Resources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10900/