Congrats! You’ve just become the proud owner of hearing aids – a great piece of modern tech. But, just like with all new devices, there will be things that hearing aid wearers wish somebody had informed them about.
Let’s assess how a new hearing aid user can eliminate the 9 most common hearing aid errors.
1. Failing to comprehend hearing aid functionality
Or, more specifically, know how your hearing aid works. The hearing experience will be significantly enhanced if you know how to use advanced features for different environments like on the street, at the movies, or in a restaurant.
It might be able to sync wirelessly to your smartphone, TV, or stereo. It might also have a setting that makes phone calls clearer.
If you use this advanced technology in such a rudimentary way, without understanding these features, you can easily get stuck in a rut. Hearing aids nowadays can do more than make the sound louder.
In order to get the clearest and best sound quality, take some time to practice wearing the hearing aid in different places. Check out how well you hear by getting a friend or family member to help you.
As with anything new, it will get easier after a bit of practice. And your hearing experience will be much better than when you simply turn the volume up and down.
2. Thinking that your hearing will immediately improve
It’s not uncommon for a new hearing aid owner to think that their hearing will be perfect from day one. This is an incorrect assumption. It normally takes up to a month for most new users to become comfortable with their new hearing aids. But stay positive. The time you take is easily worth it according to those who are diligent.
After you get home, give yourself a couple of days to become accustomed to the new situation. It’s like breaking in a new pair of shoes. You may need to use it in short intervals.
Start in a calm setting with a friend where you’re just talking. It can be somewhat disorienting at first because people’s voices may sound different. Ask about your own voice volume and make adjustments.
Slowly increase the time you wear your hearing aids and progressively add new places to visit.
You will have wonderful hearing experiences ahead of you if you can just be patient with yourself.
3. Being dishonest about your level of hearing loss at your hearing test
In order to be certain you get the right hearing aid technology, it’s crucial to answer any questions we may ask honestly.
Go back and get retested if you realize you may not have been completely honest after you get your hearing aids. But it’s better if you get it right the first time. The level and type of hearing loss will determine the hearing aid styles that work best for you.
For instance, certain hearing aids are better for people with hearing loss in the high-frequency range. Others are better for people with mid-frequency hearing loss and so on.
4. Neglecting to have your hearing aid fitted
There are numerous requirements that your hearing aids need to simultaneously manage: they need to be comfortable on or in your ears, they need to be simple to put in and take out, and they need to amplify the sounds around you efficiently. Your hearing aid fitting is intended to correctly calibrate all three of those variables for your individual requirements.
During hearing aid fitting sessions, you may:
- Undergo hearing tests to adjust the proper power for your hearing aid.
- Have your ears accurately measured or have molds made (or both).
5. Not tracking your results
Once you’ve been fitted, it’s worthwhile to take notes on how your hearing aid performs and feels. Make a note if you are having difficulty hearing in a big room. Make a note if one ear seems tighter than the other. If everything feels great, make a note. With this knowledge, we can personalize the settings of your hearing aid so it functions at peak effectiveness and comfort.
6. Not planning how you will use your hearing aid in advance
Some hearing aids are water-resistant. Others, however, can be damaged or even ruined by water. Some have state-of-the-art features you might be willing to pay more for because you take pleasure in certain activities.
You might ask our opinion but the decision is yours. Only you know what state-of-the-art features you’ll actually use and that’s worth investing in because if the hearing aids don’t fit in with your lifestyle you won’t use them.
You’ll be using 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.
Some other things to take into consideration
- Talk with us about these things before your fitting so you can be sure you’re totally satisfied.
- You might care about whether your hearing aid is visible. Or, you might want to make a bold statement.
- You might prefer something that is very automated. Or maybe you’re more of a do-it-yourself type of person. Is a longer battery life essential to you?
Many issues that come up with regards to fit, lifestyle, and how you use your hearing aids can be addressed during the fitting process. What’s more, many hearing aid brands will allow you to demo the devices before deciding. During this trial period, you’ll be able to get an idea of whether a specific brand of hearing aid would meet your needs.
7. Not appropriately taking care of your hearing aids
Moisture is a significant challenge for the majority of hearing aids. If where you live is very humid, getting a dehumidifier may be worth the money. Keeping your hearing aid in the bathroom where people bathe is a bad idea.
Before you touch your hearing aid or its battery, be sure to clean your hands. Oils found naturally on your hand can impact how well the hearing aid works and the duration of the batteries.
The hearing aid shouldn’t be allowed to accumulate earwax and skin cells. Instead, the manufacturer’s recommended cleaning procedures should be followed.
Taking simple steps like these will improve the life and function of your hearing aid.
8. Not having spare batteries
New hearing aid wearers often learn this concept at the worst times. All of a sudden, when you’re watching your favorite show, your batteries die just as you’re about to find out “who done it”.
Your battery life depends, like any electronic device, on the outside environment and how you use it. So always keep a spare set of batteries nearby, even if you recently changed them. Don’t miss something important because of an unpredictable battery.
9. Not practicing 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 responsible for interpreting sound are also affected by hearing loss not just your ears.
You can begin to work on rebuilding those ear-to-brain connections once you get your new hearing aids. For some individuals, this might happen rather naturally and this is especially true if the hearing loss developed recently. But for other people, an intentional strategy may be required to get your hearing firing on all cylinders again. A couple of common strategies include the following.
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 silly at first, but don’t allow that to stop you. You’re doing the essential work of linking the words (which you read) to the sound (which you say). The more you create those connections, the better your hearing (and your hearing aid) will work.
Audiobooks
If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of reading something out loud yourself, then you can always go the audiobook route. You can purchase (or rent from the library) a physical copy of a book and the audiobook version of that same text. Then as the audiobook plays, you can read along. This does the same work as reading something out loud, you hear words while reading them. And that helps the hearing-and-language region of your brain get accustomed to hearing (and understanding) speech again.
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Resources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10900/