Congratulations—you’re set to join the millions of Americans who have realized how wearing hearing aids can make life much more exciting and fulfilling. Very soon, you’ll be hearing sounds you’ve long forgotten, engaging in stimulating conversations, and listening to music with better perceptiveness for each instrument.
But before you get to all that, you’ll have to go through a quick phase of adjustment to get comfortable with your new hearing aids. Here are five tips to help you push through this stage and to help you get the most out of your new technology.
1. Consult a Hearing Care Professional
If you are looking for 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 ideal 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 unique hearing loss.
Your hearing loss, like a fingerprint, is unique. That means every hearing aid should be programmed differently—and this requires the expertise of a hearing care professional.
2. Give Your Hearing Aids a Chance
Your new hearing aids will take some getting used to. You’ll detect sounds you haven’t listened to in some time, your voice may sound different, and sound may all around just seem “off.” This is perfectly ordinary: 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 a minimum a couple of weeks. Put them in when you get up in the morning and take them out before going to bed. Even though it may be awkward initially, you’ll get used to better hearing in no time—and it will be well worth the effort.
If you discover that you’re having difficulty adjusting, set up a visit with your hearing care professional. Hearing aids can be fine-tuned, so you never have to quit on better hearing.
3. Start Small
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 conversation; take part in one-on-one conversations in a quiet room; and listen to music while trying to pick out various instruments and pitches.
Then, when you’re more comfortable, you can try your hearing aids out in more complex conditions like at social gatherings, restaurants, and movie theaters. Modern hearing aids have sophisticated features and environmental settings that can effortlessly handle these heightened listening demands—which segues nicely to the fourth tip.
4. Learn the Advanced Features
After you’ve adapted to your hearing aids, you should start to learn a few of the more sophisticated features. With the assistance of your hearing specialist, you can discover how to take advantage of the functionality and convenience of your modern hearing aids.
Depending on your particular model, you’ll have the ability to do things like wirelessly stream music and phone calls straight to your hearing aids, regulate the volume from your mobile phone or digital watch, and easily change settings to optimize your hearing in different environments. Make sure to speak to your hearing specialist about all the features that might be beneficial to you.
5. Take Care Of Your Hearing Aids
Finally, you’ll want to make sure that you care for your hearing aids. This implies daily cleaning, proper storage, and managing your battery supply. Your hearing specialist will show you how to incorporate 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 one or two times annually to ensure proper functioning for many years.
We’d love to hear from you: if you currently have hearing aids, tell us about your experience! Let us know how you adjusted to your hearing aids and any recommendations you’d give to those just getting started.