Congratulations! Modern hearing aids are an amazing piece of technology, and you’ve recently become the proud owner of a shiny new pair. But, as with any new device, there will be things that hearing aid owners wish someone had informed them about.
Let’s examine how a new hearing aid user 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 features. It probably has unique features that considerably improve the hearing experience in different settings like restaurants, theaters, or walking down the street.
Your wireless devices, like smartphones and televisions can most likely sync wirelessly to your hearing aids. In addition, it may have a special setting that helps you hear on the phone.
If you don’t learn about these functions, it’s so easy to get stuck in a rut by using your technologically-advanced hearing aid in a basic way. Hearing aids nowadays can do more than make the sound louder.
To get the clearest and best sound, take some time to practice using the hearing aid in different places. Ask a family member or friend to help you so you can check how well you can hear.
As with anything new, it will get easier after a bit of practice. Just raising and lowering the volume won’t even come close to giving you the hearing experience that utilizing these more sophisticated features will.
2. Thinking that your hearing will instantly improve
It’s not unusual for a new hearing aid users to think that their hearing will be optimal from day one. This assumption is usually not how it works. Some say it takes a month or more before they are entirely comfortable with their hearing aid. But stay positive. The time you take is well worth it according to those who are persistent.
After you get home, give yourself a couple of days to get used to the new experience. It’s like breaking in a new pair of shoes. You might need to wear it in short intervals.
Start in a calm setting with a friend where you’re only talking. It can be somewhat disorienting initially because people’s voices may not sound the same. Ask your friends if you’re talking too loud and make the required adjustments.
Slowly begin to go to new places and wear the hearing aid for longer periods of time.
Be patient with yourself, and you’ll have countless wonderful hearing experiences to look forward to.
3. Not being honest about your degree of hearing loss during your hearing assessments
Responding truthfully to the questions during your hearing exam will assure you get fitted with the optimum hearing aid technology.
Go back and get retested if you realize you may not have been totally honest after you get your hearing aids. Getting it straight the first time is easier. The degree and type of hearing loss will determine the hearing aid styles that will work best for you.
For instance, some hearing aids are better for individuals with hearing loss in the high-frequency range. People who are dealing with mid-range hearing loss will call for different technology and etc.
4. Not getting a hearing aid fitting
Your hearing aids need to juggle a few requirements at once: They need to efficiently boost sound, they need to be easy to put in and remove, and they need to be comfortable in your ears. Your hearing aid fitting is intended to properly calibrate all three of those variables for your individual requirements.
When you’re getting fitted, you might:
- Have your hearing tested to determine the power level of your hearing aid.
- Have your ears precisely measured or have molds made (or both).
5. Not tracking your results
It’s important that you take notes on how your hearing aid performs and feels after you get fitted. Make a note if you are having trouble hearing in a large room. Make a note if one ear seems tighter than the other. If everything feels right, make a note. With this knowledge, we can customize the settings of your hearing aid so it functions at peak efficiency and comfort.
6. Not anticipating how you’ll use your hearing aids
Some hearing aids are water-resistant. However, water can significantly damage others. Perhaps you enjoy certain activities and you are willing to pay extra for more advanced features.
You might ask our opinion but the choice must be yours. You won’t use your hearing aid if it doesn’t fit your lifestyle and only you know what features you will use.
You’ll be wearing your hearing aid for a long time. So you don’t want to be disappointed by settling when you really would have benefited from a certain feature.
A few more things to think about
- You may care about whether people can see your hearing aid. Or maybe you want to wear them with style.
- Speak with us about these things before your fitting so you can make sure you’re entirely satisfied.
- You might want something that is very automated. Or perhaps you like having more control over the volume. How much battery life will you need?
Many issues that come up with regards to fit, lifestyle, and how you use your hearing aids can be resolved through the fitting process. What’s more, many hearing aid makers will let you try out the devices before making a decision. This trial period will help you determine which brand will be best for your requirements.
7. Failing to take proper care of your hearing aid
Moisture is a serious problem for most hearing aids. If where you live is very humid, getting a dehumidifier may be worth the investment. Storing your hearing aid in the bathroom where people bathe is a bad idea.
Consistently wash your hands before handling the hearing aid or batteries. The life of your hearing aid and the longevity of its battery can be impacted by the oils normally present in your skin.
The hearing aid shouldn’t be allowed to accumulate earwax and skin cells. Instead, clean it based on the manufacturer’s instructions.
Taking simple steps like these will increase the life and function of your hearing aid.
8. Failing to keep a spare set of batteries
Frequently, it’s the worst time when new hearing aid users learn this one. When you’re about to discover 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 let an unpredictable battery cause you to miss something significant.
9. Neglecting your hearing exercises
You might assume that your hearing aids will do all of the work when you first purchase them. But the parts of your brain in charge of interpreting sound are also affected by hearing loss not just your ears.
You can start to work on restoring those ear-to-brain pathways once you get your new hearing aids. This might happen quite naturally for some people, especially if the hearing loss was somewhat recent. But others will need a more structured strategy to restore their ability to hear. The following are a couple of prevalent strategies.
Reading out loud
Reading out loud is one of the easiest ways to restore those connections between your ears and your brain. It may feel a bit foolish at first, but don’t allow that to stop you. You’re doing the essential work of connecting the words (which you read) to the sound (which you say). Your hearing will get better and better as you continue practicing.
Audiobooks
If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of reading something out loud yourself, then you can always go the audiobook route. You can buy (or rent from the library) a physical copy of a book and the audiobook version of that same text. Then, you read along with the book while the audiobook plays. This does the same work as reading something out loud, you hear a word while you’re reading it. And that helps the hearing-and-language part of your brain get used to hearing (and making sense of) speech again.
Resources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10900/