You’ve been waiting for this day for a long time. You received your new hearing aids. You’re so thrilled to be able to jump into your social life again. Now, you won’t be missing elements of conversations or going through uncomfortable transitions. But your hearing aids just don’t sound quite right.
The reason for this is that it will normally take a bit of time before you adjust to your new hearing aids. Often, this transition can be annoying. After all, there was so much you were excited to do, and that adjustment period just feels so slow.
But there are some tips you can practice to decrease this transition period. Before long, with a little practice, you will be paying attention to what you’re hearing rather than your hearing aids.
Start slowly with these tips
Your brain will take a little time to get accustomed to hearing certain sounds again regardless of how sophisticated your hearing aids are. Use these tips to start slowly and deliberately give your ears time to adapt.:
- First, try to pay attention to one-on-one conversations: You may be setting yourself up for disappointment if you use your hearing aids in a crowded environment on the first day. When the brain has to focus on all those voices, it can become overwhelmed at first. Sticking to one-on-one conversations can help make that transition smoother (and give you a little extra practice, too).
- Wear your hearing aids for a short period of time: A few hours at a time is the most you should wear your hearing aids when you first start out. They may feel a little funny at first (this is normal), so it’s good to start a little bit at a time. As your hearing aids get more comfortable, you can use them for longer durations.
- Use your hearing aids only around the house at first: When you’re at home, you have much more control over what you’re hearing, and you’ll likely experience substantially less noise pollution. This means you can focus on one voice at a time.
Tips that help you get added practice in
As with any other skill (and hearing is a skill, among other things), there are certain activities that can help you practice with your hearing aids. Some of these are even enjoyable!
- Listen to an audiobook while you read the print version: This comparable exercise can also be quite enjoyable. Your brain will learn to make associations between words and sounds by using this read along technique.
- Turn on closed-captions when you watch TV: It’s easy: put in your hearing aids, turn on the TV, and watch your favorite program. Your brain will start to remember what certain words sound like as you read along with the voices you’re hearing. This type of practice will help you adjust to understanding speech again.
- Just practice hearing: That’s right: sit in a quiet space and let your ears do the hearing. You can practice by focusing on trying to hear the refrigerator running or the cat meowing in another room or the birds singing outside.
Strengthen your hearing health with these tips
Obviously, one of the purposes of hearing aids is to keep your ears as healthy as you can. But, as you take some time to get accustomed to your new hearing aids, there are some things you can do that your ears will thank you for.:
- If you’re experiencing any pain, make sure you document it and tell us about it.: Because it shouldn’t be painful to wear hearing aids. So if you’re experiencing any pain or something’s not fitting right, it’s important to let us know as soon as you can.
- Keep visiting us: There might be a temptation to presume that once you have the right hearing aids, you won’t need to see us anymore. This would be the worst idea. We can continue to monitor your hearing, make sure the fit is comfortable, and make any needed adjustments. It’s essential to continue with these follow up visits.
Take your time, and work up to full-time hearing aids
Working your way up to using your hearing aids full time is the objective here. Everybody’s unique but the slow and steady approach usually works best. Learning the best ways to get comfortable with your new hearing aids is something we can assist you with.
These tips will help you have a more enjoyable and enriched life with your new hearing aids.