If you’re new to hearing aids, you know that adjusting to wearing them can be a challenge. However, hearing aids offer you an opportunity to improve your quality of life, become engaged in your environment, and provide other health benefits. Keep reading for answers to some common questions you may have about adjusting to hearing aids.
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Finding out you need to wear hearing aids can be tough for some people. You may feel like you’re “old” or that your body isn’t doing what it is “supposed” to do. These are common feelings, but they are also far from the truth.
Approximately 40 million Americans age 18 and up have trouble hearing, and many of these people could benefit from wearing hearing aids. With new technology and advancements made in the hearing aid industry, the adjustment to wearing hearing aids has become easier, more comfortable, and less of a challenge. When you consider the benefits of improving your hearing by wearing hearing aids, there should be no hesitation that wearing them is the right way to go.
Once you and your hearing care professional have decided that hearing aids are the proper solution to your hearing loss, you will undoubtedly have some questions. There are a few customary subjects that will come up when you begin your hearing aid journey. We hope to ease your uncertainty and increase your confidence with our answers.
Top Three Things to Consider When First Wearing Hearing Aids
There are many worries that accompany the first time wearing hearing aids. It’s natural to feel uneasy about adding hearing aids to your daily routine, and it’s expected to have some questions about them. Below are three frequent questions that arise when you first begin wearing hearing aids.
#1. Should I Wear My Hearing Aids All the Time?
There is a difference of opinion on this answer among some hearing professionals, but the correct reply is, “Yes!” You should wear your hearing aids all day — from morning to night. They are a part of your everyday regimen and should be treated as such.
Wearing your hearing aids during every part of your day helps you adjust to them quicker and establishes your expectations for every situation you encounter.
Consider this analogy: you have a messy closet that you want to clean out. In order to do that effectively, you must take everything out and then decide what to put back in based on what you need. Hearing aids are similar; you have to get used to each sound that is put back into your ear. You need all of the sounds because they are part of your world. Adapting to the sounds that are part of your life is the most constructive way to adjust to wearing hearing aids.
#2. Why Does My Voice Sound So Weird?
When you first start wearing hearing aids, your own voice will sound strange, almost like a microphone. This is usual, and it will go away. It’s called the occlusion effect.
Your voice is amplified by wearing hearing aids, and you may think you sound plugged up or like you’re speaking in a closed-off room, but this occlusion effect will lessen after the first few weeks of wearing your hearing aids regularly.
There are some adjustments that can be made to your hearing aids to lessen this effect, as well, which brings us into the third question.
#3. What About Buying Hearing Aids from a Big Box Store?
Big box stores do sell hearing aids, however, there are a lot of things they can’t do when it comes to assisting first-time hearing aid patients. The technology that has made the adjustment to wearing hearing aids easier also makes buying from a big box store a bad idea.
Hearing care professionals know their way around the newest technology and want to take the time to help you take advantage of it. For example, setting up your cell phone to work properly with your hearing aids is one of the most important steps toward integrating your hearing aids into your life. Big box stores will not take the time to go through all of the adjustments that need to be made, but a hearing care professional, like those at Hearing Solution Centers, will.
Private practice audiologists and dispensers want your hearing aids to work the best they can. This takes time to make happen. Audiologists and hearing aid dispensers know the nuances behind the apps that work with your hearing aids and want them to be flawless for you as you adjust to wearing your hearing aids.
Any questions you have about wearing hearing aids can be best answered by those who specialize in hearing aids, like our team of experts at Hearing Solution Centers.
Watch the video below for more information about wearing hearing aids, and schedule your appointment today!