What Can I do to Make My Hearing Aids More Comfortable?

Woman getting a hearing aid fitting.

Tanya is sitting with her hearing specialist, being measured for her very first set of hearing aids. And she’s feeling a little anxious. Not, you know, a ton of anxiety. But she’s never used hearing aids before, and she’s a little stressed that she will be uncomfortable with a high tech gizmo inside of her ears, especially because she’s not a big fan of earpods or earplugs.

Tanya’s worries are not unique. Lots of first-time hearing aid users have worries about the general fit and comfort of their hearing aids. Tanya has every intention of wearing her hearing aids. Now she won’t need to crank the television up so loud that it bothers her family or even her neighbors. But how comfortable will those hearing aids be?

How to Adjust When You First Use Your Hearing Aids

So, are hearing aids uncomfortable? Put simply: some individuals find them to be a bit uncomfortable at first. Early levels of comfort will fluctuate because, as with many things in life, there’s a period of adjustment. But you will feel more comfortable over time as you become accustomed to your hearing aids.

Often it’s just good to recognize that these adjustments are will happen. Knowing what you should expect will help your adjustment period be smoother.

There are two steps to your adjustment:

  • Becoming comfortable with a higher quality of sound: In some cases, it may be the sound quality that you need to adjust to. If you’re like most people, you put off on getting hearing aids, and you’re not used to hearing a complete range of sounds anymore. It might sound a bit loud at first or there could be frequencies of sound your not accustomed to hearing. At first, this can be rather distracting. For example, one patient reported that he could hear his hair rubbing against his jacket. This is typical. After a few weeks, your brain will filter out the noises you don’t want to pay attention to.
  • Adapting to the feeling of a hearing aid: There might be some slight physical discomfort when you first begin wearing your hearing aid, and your hearing specialist may recommend you start off wearing your hearing aids for only part of the day. Having said that, there shouldn’t be any pain involved. If you’re feeling pain because of your hearing aid, you should definitely speak with your hearing specialist as soon as you can.
  • In order to improve your general comfort and hasten the adjustment period, contact your hearing specialist if you’re having trouble with the physical positioning or sound quality of your hearing aids.

    Can I Make my Hearing Aids More Comfortable?

    Over the years, luckily, there are a few techniques that have worked fairly well.

    • Get the right fit: Fitting your ears well is what hearing aids are made to do. It could take a number of appointments with your hearing specialist to get everything functioning and just the right fit. And for optimal comfort and effectiveness, you might want to think about a custom fit hearing aid.
    • Practice: The world may sound just a little bit different after you get your hearing aids. Adapting to sound, especially speech, could take some time. In order to get the hang of it a little more quickly, there are a number of exercises you can do including watching a movie with caption or reading along with an audiobook.
    • Start slow: If you’re breaking in your first set of hearing aids, you shouldn’t feel as if you have to wear them all day, every day right away. You can take your time and work your way up to it. From one to four hours per day is a great way to begin. Having said that, you’ll want to build up to using your hearing aids all day, but you don’t have to start there.

    You’re Hearing Aids Can be More Comfortable

    For the first few days or weeks, there may be a little discomfort with your hearing aids. Pretty soon you’re hearing aids will be a comfortable part of your day to day life and the sooner you make the adjustments, the sooner this will happen. In order to make that transition, it’s essential that you wear them every day.

    Soon all you will have to think about is what you hear, not how you hear it.

    The site information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. To receive personalized advice or treatment, schedule an appointment.