Great article in Healthy Hearing by Joy Victory –
Tips for getting used to new hearing aids
1. Wear them at home first
Start by wearing your hearing aids at home or in other quiet listening environments. Focus on having one-on-one conversations. Let your friends and family know you’re using your new hearing aids so they can help you stay committed to better hearing as you wear your aids in more challenging environments. Reading aloud or talking to your pet can also help you get used to your own voice, too.
2. Give yourself homework
For extra practice with your hearing aids, try to locate the sources of all the sounds in your environment, or listen to audio books or talk radio while you’re home alone.
3. Take breaks
Wear them a few hours the first day, then a few more hours every day after that. Gradually increase the number of hours you wear them per day, and the situations in which you wear them.
4. Attend follow-up visits
You’ll want to see your hearing care professional for as many follow-up visits as you need to fine-tune the sounds you’re hearing, adjust the fit in your ear and talk about the situations that are most challenging for you. Most people visit their audiologist about two weeks after their first fitting to get their devices fine-tuned and possibly adjust the volume.
5. Attend hearing aid care classes
If your hearing care professional offers orientation classes for new hearing aid wearers, be sure to sign up. These classes are very helpful and lead to greater satisfaction with hearing aid use.
6. Anticipate some frustration, especially with background noise
If you haven’t heard well in a few years, hearing aids flood your ears with sounds you didn’t notice before, and it can be a bit of sound overload. For example, the humming of the refrigerator—a background noise that most people seldom notice—might seem very loud or unbearable. This is because your brain has forgotten how to sort out background noise and to prioritize certain sounds over others. People adjusting to a new hearing aid have to relearn how to ignore background noise, and it’s important for them to be patient and take it slow as their brains adjust.
7. Report any pain
Depending on your hearing needs, you may have custom-fitted earmolds, which means they should fit comfortably within your ears. Audiologists note that hearing aids can cause slight tenderness at first, but that if they cause any amount of pain, you should return to the audiologist immediately to fix the problem. Often times, receiver-in-the-ear styles with domes are easier to adjust to because they don’t cause a “plugged up” feeling in the ears like earmolds can, and they’re gentle on the ear canals.
Read the full article at: https://www.healthyhearing.com/report/51911-How-to-help-a-loved-one-get-accustomed-to-new-hearing-aids?fbclid=IwAR3xrlPUV7kS1Iw_gLNeoqRGFQw0YLQ4XOOOpyErpMqGOE0tUFc6AYxhEzY
We are here to help if you or a family member is having any difficulties with hearing, hearing aids, hearing aid apps or Tinnitus please give us a call at 727-323-2471 and set up an appointment.
We can help you.
Susan E. Terry, Au.D., F-AAA, F-NAP
Doctor of Audiology
Board Certified
P.S. We are here to help if you have any questions about your hearing, feel free to give us a call at 727-323-2471