New hearing aid users are usually surprised to discover that it takes a while to get used to their new device.
When wearing hearing aids for the first time, you’ll be dealing with all the different sounds and stimuli that your brain has forgotten during the hearing loss, along with discovering how your new device functions.
When you start to use your hearing aids, your hearing care provider or audiologist in Malaysia will be an essential partner, and if you have any concerns, do not hesitate to contact us.
Here are eight tips for adjusting to hearing aids.
1. Use them at home first
Begin by wearing your hearing aids in quiet listening environments or at home. Concentrate on holding one-on-one meetings.
Let your friends and family know that you’re using your new device so that when you wear your hearing aids in more demanding situations, they will help you remain committed to improved hearing.
2. Gradually increase wearing time
For different people, getting used to hearing aids will take varying lengths of time. Act on a timeline that you are comfortable with.
Begin by wearing your hearing aids around the house for a few hours every day. After some time, try wearing them out for a stroll in your neighbourhood for a short time until you’ve become more used to your new device.
Gradually increase your wear time before getting used to wearing them for much of the day’s waking hours.
3. Test yourself
Try to find the sources of all the sounds in your house for extra practice with your hearing aids, or listen to audiobooks or radio when you’re alone at home.
4. Practise communicating in a group
Start by having conversations with your close friends and relatives because familiar voices are the easiest to recognise.
Hearing involves active listening; therefore, ensure that you face the speaker when they’re talking. When you do this, it helps your brain to begin to understand sounds, vocal patterns, and nonverbal body language.
5. Take breaks
Adjusting to your hearing aid will take some time. Therefore, you need to relax and follow the process.
Take breaks after a few hours of practise so that you don’t stress your ears and brain. Straining your ears to get used to your device too soon may prove counterproductive.
6. Practise listening in environments that are a bit loud
Try getting them out into new settings until you’ve become more comfortable with your hearing aids.
Several different noise conditions sometimes prove difficult for people with hearing loss, and when you first get hearing aids, they can be daunting.
Take them for a spin in environments like grocery stores, public transit centres, libraries, movie theatres, auditoriums, and worship houses.
7. Practise using the phone
Some hearing aids are designed with wireless connectivity and allow you to answer phone calls when connected to your smartphone. Some hearing aids do not provide this option, but if you put a phone up to your ear, it will work very well.
Practise having conversations on the phone with your loved ones with your new hearing aids. It will improve how you use your hearing aid with another system.
8. Follow-up visits are crucial
As a new hearing aids user, you’ll want to see your hearing care specialist to fine-tune the sounds you’re hearing, change the fit in your ear, and chat about the situations that are most difficult for you.
Around two weeks after their first fitting, most people visit the hearing aid centre to get their device fine-tuned and probably adjust the volume.
In a Nutshell
For most new users, the greatest adjustment required is the sound of their voice. You may find that your voice sounds funny or foreign at first and sound louder than you would like, too.
The chewing and swallowing sounds may be too apparent at first. However, as you get familiar with wearing your hearing aids, the irritating sounds will dissipate eventually.
