Top Tips For Wearing Hearing Aids For The First Time
If you are struggling with your hearing and you get yourself tested, your hearing doctor may tell you that you need some hearing aids. A lot of people are concerned about the prospect of wearing hearing aids and they are worried about how they will look, what they are likely to cost, and whether they will work properly. It always takes a bit of time to adjust to hearing aids, but if you follow these simple tips, you will get used to them soon enough.
Understand Your Hearing Loss
When you are choosing hearing aids, it is important that you understand what kind of hearing loss you have, so you can work out which type of hearing aid that you need. There are 3 types of hearing loss and your hearing doctor will be able to tell you which kind you have. Always ask for their advice on the type of hearing aids that you need as well. By understanding your hearing loss, you will be able to choose the best hearing aids and use them more effectively.
Be Patient
A lot of people are disappointed when they first put their hearing aids in because they expect to hear clearly right away. However, your brain has not been hearing properly for a while, so it needs to adjust before you can hear normally again. Hearing aids may also feel a little uncomfortable to start with as well. Sometimes, you might need to change hearing aids but most of the time, you just need to give it a bit of time so you can get used to them. Be patient with your new hearing aids and manage your expectations so you are not disappointed when things don’t go back to normal right away.
Start Out Slowly
Learning to hear again takes time, so start out slowly. If you wear your new hearing aids all day long, it can be overwhelming and tiring. Instead, you should wear them for an hour or two in a quiet area of the house so you can start getting used to it. You can gradually increase the amount of time that you wear them for each day until you are ready to wear them all of the time.
Download Some Apps
There are some great hearing aids that come with smartphone apps that you can use to control the volume and adjust the focus of the hearing aids. These smartphone hearing aids are great because they will help you to tweak the settings and perfect the sound from your hearing aids so you can get more out of them. This is far less fiddly and awkward than adjusting the settings on the hearing aids themselves.
Read Aloud
Before you had your hearing aids, you were probably talking very loudly because you couldn’t hear yourself very well. When you first start using your hearing aids, you will have the same issue and you need to learn to adjust the volume of your voice again. One of the best ways to do this is to read aloud and practice regulating the volume. This will help you learn how to speak at a normal volume again, and listening to yourself read will also help you practice picking out words and sounds.
Keep A Hearing Diary
A hearing diary is a great way to track which sounds you are having trouble with. For example, if you find it hard to hear when talking on the phone or the sound of the clock in your bedroom is too loud, note it all down. Next time you have an appointment with your hearing specialist, you can take this diary along with you and discuss some of the issues with them. They will then be able to show you how to adjust the settings on your hearing aids to improve their effectiveness. It’s also a good way to make sure that the hearing aids are working as they should.
Don’t Mess Around With The Volume Too Much
Most modern hearing aids adjust to different environments automatically. So, if you walk into a busy shop or restaurant, for example, the settings should change automatically to filter out the background noise and make it easier to detect speech. However, a lot of people don’t realize this and they will turn the volume down manually, making it a lot harder for them to hear. You should get to know your hearing aids and make sure that you are only changing the volume when absolutely necessary.
If you follow these simple tips, you will get used to your new hearing aids in no time.