Congratulations! You’ve just become the proud owner of hearing aids – an incredible piece of modern tech. But, as with all new devices, there will be things that hearing aid wearers wish somebody had informed them about.
Let’s examine how a new hearing aid owner can eliminate the 9 most common hearing aid errors.
1. Not knowing how hearing aids work
To put it simply, learn your hearing aid’s functions. The hearing experience will be significantly enhanced if you know how to use advanced features for different environments like on the street, at the movies, or in a restaurant.
Your wireless devices, including smartphones and televisions can most likely sync wirelessly to your hearing aids. It might also have a setting that makes phone calls clearer.
If you use this advanced technology in such a basic way, without learning about these features, you can easily get stuck in a rut. Hearing aids nowadays can do more than make the sound louder.
Practice wearing your hearing aid in different places in order to learn how to get the clearest sound quality. Check out how well you hear by getting a friend or family member to help you.
As with anything new, it will get easier after a little practice. Simply raising and lowering the volume won’t even come close to providing the hearing experience that utilizing these more advanced features will.
2. Thinking that your hearing will instantly improve
It’s not unusual for a new hearing aid owner to think that their hearing will be optimal from day one. 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 diligent.
Give yourself a few days, after you get home, to get used to your new situation. It’s like breaking in a new pair of shoes. Usually, you will need to go slow and use your new hearing aids a little at a time.
Begin by just talking quietly with friends. It can be somewhat disorienting initially because people’s voices may not sound the same. Ask your friends if you’re speaking too loud and make the necessary adjustments.
Slowly start to visit new places and wear the hearing aid for longer periods of time.
Be patient with yourself, and you’ll have lots of wonderful hearing experiences to look forward to.
3. Being dishonest about your level of hearing loss at your hearing exam
Responding truthfully to the questions during your hearing test will ensure you get fitted with the correct hearing aid technology.
If you have your hearing aid and realize that perhaps you weren’t as honest as you may have been, come back and ask to be retested. Getting it straight the first time is better. The degree and type of hearing loss will determine the hearing aid styles that work best for you.
As an example, individuals with hearing loss in the high frequency range will need a specific type of hearing aid. Others are better for those with mid-frequency hearing loss and so on.
4. Neglecting to have your hearing aid fitted
There are several requirements that your hearing aids need to simultaneously manage: They need to efficiently boost sound, they need to be simple to put in and remove, and they need to be comfortable in your ears. All three of those variables will be resolved during your fitting.
During hearing aid fitting sessions, you might:
- Undergo hearing tests to adjust the correct power for your hearing aid.
- Have molds of your ears made and measurements taken.
5. Not tracking your results
It’s important that you take notes on how your hearing aid performs and feels after you get fitted. If you have trouble hearing in big rooms, make a note of that. If your right ear seems tighter than your left, make a note of that. Even make a note if everything feels great. With this information, we can personalize the settings of your hearing aid so it works at peak effectiveness and comfort.
6. Not thinking about how you will utilize your hearing aid ahead of time
Some hearing aids are resistant to water. However, water can severely damage others. Perhaps you enjoy certain activities and you are willing to pay extra for more sophisticated features.
You can ask our opinion but the decision is yours. Only you know which state-of-the-art features you’ll actually use and that’s worth committing to because if the hearing aids don’t fit in with your lifestyle you won’t use them.
You’ll be using your hearing aid for quite a while. So if you really need certain features, you shouldn’t settle for less.
A few more things to contemplate
- You may want something that is extremely automated. Or maybe you’re more of a do-it-yourself type of individual. Is an extended battery life important to you?
- Talk with us about these things before your fitting so you can make sure you’re totally satisfied.
- How visible your hearing aid is might be something you’re worried about. 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 dealt with through the fitting process. In addition, many hearing aid brands will allow you to demo the devices before deciding. This demo period will help you determine which brand will be best for your requirements.
7. Not correctly taking care of your hearing aids
The majority of hearing aids are quite sensitive to moisture. If where you live is very humid, acquiring a dehumidifier may be worth the money. Keeping your hearing aid in the bathroom where people take baths or showers is a bad idea.
Always wash your hands before touching the hearing aid or batteries. Oils found naturally on your hand can impact how well the hearing aid functions and the life of the batteries.
The hearing aid shouldn’t be allowed to collect earwax and skin cells. Instead, clean it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
The life and function of your hearing aid will be improved by taking these simple steps.
8. Failing to keep a set of spare batteries
New hearing aid users frequently learn this lesson at the worst times. When you’re about to find out who did it at the critical moment of your favorite show, your batteries die without warning.
Your battery life depends, like any electronic device, on the external environment and how you use it. So even if you just changed your batteries, keep an extra set with you. Don’t miss out on something important because of an unpredictable battery.
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 just your ears that are affected by hearing loss, it’s also the parts of your brain in charge of interpreting all those sounds.
Once you’ve got your hearing aids, you’ll be able to start the work of restoring some of those ear-to-brain pathways and connections. For some people, this might happen rather naturally and this is particularly true if the hearing loss developed recently. But other people will need a more structured plan to restore their ability to hear. A couple of common strategies include the following.
Reading out loud
One of the best ways you can restore those pathways between your ears and your brain is to spend some time reading out loud. It might feel a little foolish at first, but don’t let that stop you. You’re practicing reconnecting the feeling of saying words with the sounds they make. Your hearing will get better and better as you keep practicing.
Audiobooks
If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of reading something out loud personally, then you can always try audiobooks. 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 as you’re reading it just like reading out loud. And that helps the hearing-and-language region of your brain get used to hearing (and making sense of) speech again.
Resources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10900/