So you don’t wear your hearing aids very often? Perhaps you put them in when you go to a party or go to the theater, but otherwise, you leave them in the drawer. Do you really need to use them more often than that?
The problem is that when you don’t wear your hearing aids regularly, you’re creating some troubling disadvantages for yourself over the long term. Your hearing may get significantly worse. Social isolation and cognitive decline could be the result. Your overall health may be jeopardized. This content will help you understand why you should be wearing your hearing aids.
Why Are Your Hearing Aids Not in
If your hearing aids are sitting unused in a nightstand drawer somewhere, you likely have a reason. You may have decided to keep those reasons to yourself. Perhaps, when your family asks, you even say something generic and elusive, like, “I just don’t like them”.
Stilted dialogue aside, we know that’s not the full story, right? If you dig a little deeper, you’ll likely find that there’s a specific grievance at the heart of your sporadic hearing aid use. And there’s also a very specific solution to your problem.
Some of the most common issues include the following;
“My Hearing Aids Don’t Feel That Comfortable”
One of the most commonly mentioned reasons that individuals stop wearing their hearing aids normally is discomfort. Perhaps the hearing aid won’t stop falling out of your ear. Or perhaps your over-the-ear model chafes in just the wrong spot, causing tenderness and pain.
It’s not supposed to be uncomfortable to use hearing aids, so if they’re creating discomfort of any sort, something is certainly wrong. And soreness, frustration, and pain are not things you would want from any piece of technology.
Possible solution: If you’re not comfortable with your hearing aids, consider scheduling an additional or follow-up fitting session. A few slight tweaks might be all your hearing aid requires. The size and shape of your ear can even be the foundation of a complete customization of some designs. You will be able to leave your hearing aid in longer if it fits properly and is comfortable.
My Hearing Aid Has Poor Sound Quality
Maybe you find the sound of your hearing aid to be too tinny or fuzzy so you don’t wear them that often. If that’s the situation, it’s not surprising that you’ve decided to stow your hearing aids in a drawer somewhere and save them for “special occasions”.”
Hearing aids are executing complex auditory functions all of the time as they increase some sounds while getting rid of others and that can cause a fuzzy or tinny sound. So if your settings aren’t correctly tweaked, the sound quality might seem unreliable.
Solution: There are two possible solutions to this problem: calibration and upkeep. Your hearing aids may be damaged in some way or another and need to be
repaired. But your hearing specialist can do a quick calibration which is all your hearing aids might need.
Voices Are Muffled With my Hearing Aids
When you hear people talking, you want to be able to hear them clearly. That’s the overall reason why you purchased hearing aids to begin with! You wanted to make sure you didn’t miss out on any important discussions. So it may be a little bit frustrating if all the voices you hear with you’re hearing aid sound muffled or difficult to understand.
This normally happens when you first use your hearing aids because your brain and ears aren’t necessarily used to communicating all that well anymore (it’s as if they had a falling out or something).
The Solution: Keep practicing. Comprehending what people are saying is something your brain will need to become accustomed to, so anything you can do to get some repetition will help. Try reading along with closed caption to your favorite program or along with an audiobook. Another way to get some beneficial practice is by simply having conversations with people you come in contact with.
Finding Solutions
The point is that no matter what your justification for not wearing your hearing aids might, there’s a solution somewhere. And it is essential, both for the health of your hearing and for your cognitive fitness, that you use your hearing aids routinely.
So if you’re not wearing your hearing aids? Recognize the issue and come up with a solution, so you can get involved in your life again. If you believe your hearing aids require adjustment, consult your hearing care specialist right away.