Congratulations—you’re prepared to join the millions of Americans who have discovered how wearing hearing aids can make life more enjoyable and rewarding. Before long, you’ll be listening to sounds you’ve long forgotten, engaging in stimulating discussions, and listening to music with greater perceptiveness for each instrument.
But before you get to all that, you’ll have to deal with a brief phase of adjustment to get comfortable with your new hearing aids. Here are five tips to help you make it through this stage and to help you get the most out of your new technology.
1. Visit a Hearing Care Professional
If you wish to have the best hearing attainable, there’s no avoiding the initial step, which is visiting a hearing care professional. They can assist you in finding the proper hearing aid that corresponds with 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 fine tuned for your distinctive hearing loss.
Your hearing loss, like a fingerprint, is one-of-a-kind. As a result, every hearing aid should be programmed differently—and this calls for the expertise of a hearing care professional.
2. Be Patient with Your Hearing Aids
Your new hearing aids will take time to get used to. You’ll hear sounds you haven’t heard in some time, your voice may sound different, and sound may all around just seem “off.” This is completely normal: you simply need time to adapt.
Get started by making a commitment to wear your hearing aids for as much of the day as possible, for at least a couple of 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 a difficult time adjusting, schedule 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 at Home
We suggest adapting to your hearing aids to start with in the comfort of your home. Try watching a movie or television show and paying specific attention to the dialogue; engage in one-on-one conversations in a quiet room; and listen to music while trying to pick out a variety of instruments and pitches.
Next, when you’re more comfortable, you can try your hearing aids out in more complex environments like at parties, restaurants, and movie theaters. Modern hearing aids have sophisticated features and environmental settings that can easily handle these increased listening demands—which segues nicely to the fourth tip.
4. Master the Advanced Features
After you’ve adjusted to your hearing aids, you should start to learn some of the more sophisticated features. With the assistance of your hearing specialist, you can learn how to maximize the functionality and convenience of your modern hearing aids.
Depending on your chosen model, you’ll be able to do things like wirelessly stream music and phone calls straight to your hearing aids, manipulate the volume from your smartphone or digital watch, and easily switch settings to maximize your hearing in different environments. Make sure to talk to your hearing specialist about all the features that may be helpful to you.
5. Take Care Of Your Hearing Aids
Last, you’ll want to ensure that you care for your hearing aids. This means daily cleaning, appropriate storage, and managing your battery supply. Your hearing professional will help you include hearing aid maintenance and care into your daily routine so that it becomes automatic and easy.
You’ll also want to get your hearing aids professionally cleaned and examined once or twice annually to ensure proper functioning for years to come.
We’d like to hear from you: if you currently wear hearing aids, tell us about your experience! Let us know how you adjusted to your hearing aids and any tips you’d give to those just starting out.
