It it Hard to Adjust to Wearing New Hearing Aids?

Follow these steps to help you adjust to wearing your new hearing aids

Getting hearing aids to treat hearing loss is an important step, but it's not the finish line. Because unlike wearing glasses, the benefits aren't always immediate or obvious.

When you first begin to use hearing aids, your brain will be startled once it begins receiving signals that it's been missing. Your brain needs time to get reacquainted with high frequency sounds of speech and other noises. Adapting to hearing aids is a process that takes time, commitment, education, and patience.

It can take up to four months for you to get accustomed to your hearing aids and to really get the most out of them. You will notice small changes right from the start, but it’s important to be patient.

Five Steps to Hearing Success

The following principles have been used by thousands of hearing aid wearers to successfully transition to better hearing health:

  1. Acceptance: Surprisingly, the first step begins before the purchase of hearing aids. Admitting and accepting your permanent hearing loss prepares you to get the help you need, to stop hiding or denying a hearing problem, and to end the pretense that you understand speech when in reality you may not.
  2. Positive attitude: Step two is about making a personal choice to achieve better hearing with a positive attitude. Simply purchasing hearing aids does not signal success. To overcome hearing loss, you must have a desire to learn and determination to increase your ability to hear. People who approach hearing aid use with a positive attitude are far more likely to achieve success.
  3. Education: The most effective remedy for hearing loss is personal education. The more you know about your hearing loss and treatment, the more actively you can participate in your adjustment to hearing aid use. Hearing requires more than the ears. It’s a complex function that requires the cooperation of your brain and other senses.
  4. Expectations: The fourth step towards success is to set realistic expectations. Hearing aids will help you hear better — but not perfectly. Focus on your improvement and remember the learning curve can take anywhere from six weeks to six months. Success comes from practice and commitment.
  5. Practice and patience: Finally, the fifth principle of success is a combination of practice, time, and patience. Once you have logged sufficient hours for your brain to re-acclimate, you’ll be able to hear without thinking so much about hearing. It’s a good idea to begin with a schedule in which you wear your hearing aids part time and gradually work up to wearing them from the time you rise until the time you go to bed.

If you have questions or concerns about your progress, be sure to contact us today for help. Hearing aids often need to be adjusted several times during the trial period. This is a team effort, so do not be afraid to speak up.

- Content provided courtesy of Starkey
Back to Blog Index

SHARE THIS PAGE!

FACEBOOK COMMENTS WILL BE SHOWN ONLY WHEN YOUR SITE IS ONLINE

Phone: (850) 438-4092   Fax: (850) 438-4095
Email: info@professionalhearing.com