Group of women practicing using their new hearing aids during lunch.

People normally don’t like change. Taking this into account, there can be a double edged sword regarding hearing aids: your life will experience an enormous change but they also will allow exciting new possibilities. If your someone who appreciates a very fixed routine, the change can be hard. There are very specific hurdles with new hearing aids. But knowing how to adapt to these devices can help ensure your new hearing aids will be a change you will enjoy.

Tips to Help You Adapt More Quickly to Your Hearing Aids

Whether it’s your first set of hearing aids (congrats!) or an improvement to a more powerful set, any new hearing aid will represent a significant enhancement in how you hear. That could be quite a challenge depending on your circumstances. But your transition might be a bit smoother if you follow these tips.

Begin Using Your Hearing Aids in Smaller Doses

As a basic rule, the more you wear your hearing aids, the healthier your ears will be. But it can be a little uncomfortable when you’re getting used to them if you wear them for 18 hours a day. You might try to build up your endurance by beginning with 8 hours and increasing from there.

Listen to Conversations For Practice

When you first begin wearing your hearing aids, your brain will likely need some time to get used to the idea that it’s able to hear sounds again. You may have a difficult time making out speech clearly or following conversations during this adjustment period. But practicing using listening or reading exercises (such as reading along to an audiobook) can help the language-hearing-and-interpreting portion of your brain reassert itself.

Spend The Time to Get a Hearing Aid Fitting

Even before you get your final hearing aid, one of the first things you will have to do – is go through a fitting process. Maximizing comfort, taking account of the shape of your ear canal, and adjusting for your personal hearing loss are all things that a fitting helps with. You may need to have several adjustments. It’s imperative to be serious about these fittings – and to consult us for follow-up appointments. When your hearing aids fit properly, your hearing aids will sit more comfortably and sound more natural. Adjustments to different environments can also be made by us.

Troubleshoot

Sometimes when you first buy your hearing aid something is not working properly and it becomes difficult to adapt to it. Possibly you hear too much feedback (which can be painful). It can also be infuriating when the hearing aid keeps cutting out. It can be hard to adapt to hearing aids because of these types of problems, so it’s best to find solutions as early as you can. Try these tips:

  • If you hear a lot of feedback, make sure that your hearing aids are properly seated in your ears (it might be that your fit is just a bit off) and that there are no obstructions (such as excess earwax).
  • talk about any ringing or buzzing with your hearing expert. At times, your cell phone can cause interference with your hearing aid. In other instances, it could be that we need to make some adjustments.
  • Charge your hearing aids every evening or exchange the batteries. When the batteries on your hearing aids begin to wane, they often do not work as effectively as they’re intended to.
  • Ask your hearing professional to double check that the hearing aids are correctly calibrated to your loss of hearing.

The Benefits of Adjusting to Your New Hearing Aids

It may take a bit of time to adjust to your new hearing aids just as it would with new glasses. We hope, with the help of these recommendations, that adjustment period will go a bit more smoothly (and quickly). But if you stick with it – if you put yourself into a routine with your hearing aids and really invest in adapting to them – you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how it all becomes easy. And once that occurs, you’ll be capable of devoting your attention to the things you’re actually listening to: like the day-to-day discussion you’ve been missing out on or your favorite tunes. In the end, all these adjustments will be well worth it. And change is good.

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.
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