Tanya is being measured for a new set of hearing aids by her hearing specialist. And it’s the reason for some anxiety. Her anxiety isn’t actually that bad. But hearing aids are new to her, and she’s a little worried about how comfortable she’ll feel with a high tech gizmo sitting in her ears, particularly since she’s never been a huge fan of earbuds or earplugs.
Tanya’s concerns are not unique. Fit and overall comfort are doubts for many new hearing aid users. Tanya wants to use her hearing aid. Now she won’t need to turn up the TV so loud that it bothers her family or even the neighbors. But how comfortable are those hearing aids going to be?
How to Adjust When You First Use Your Hearing Aids
So, are hearing aids uncomfortable? Simply put: some people find them to be a little uncomfortable at first. As with many things in life, there’s an adjustment time, which means your initial level of comfort will fluctuate. But in time, you’ll get used to the feeling of your hearing aids and become more comfortable.
Often it’s just nice to realize that these adjustments are coming. Knowing what you should expect will help your adjustment period be smoother.
There are two steps to your adjustment:
- Adjusting to how your hearing aid feels: There could be some minor physical discomfort when you first start to wear your hearing aid, and your hearing specialist may recommend you initially wear your hearing aids for only part of the day. Even so, there shouldn’t be any pain involved. You should get in touch with your hearing specialist if your hearing aid is causing pain.
- Adjusting to the enhanced sound quality: In some cases, the improvement in sound quality takes a little adjusting to. If you’re like the majority of people, you waited to get hearing aids, and you’re not used to hearing a complete range of sounds anymore. When you begin using your hearing aids, it might sound a bit loud, or you may hear frequencies that you aren’t used to hearing. Initially, this can be disruptive. One of our readers complained, for instance, that he could hear his hair scraping against his jacket whenever he moved his head. This is normal. In a short period of time, your brain will make the appropriate adjustments to sounds it doesn’t need to hear.
In order to enhance your overall comfort and hasten the adjustment period, talk to your hearing specialist if you’re having trouble with the physical placement or sound quality of your hearing aids.
How Can I Improve The Comfort of My Hearing Aids?
Luckily, there are a few methods that have proven to be quite effective over the years.
- Practice: The world may sound just a little bit different after you get your hearing aids. Adjusting to sound, particularly speech, might take some time. There are many practices (reading along with an audiobook or watching your favorite movie with the closed captions turned on) that can help you get the hang of this a little more quickly.
- Start slow: You don’t have to wear your hearing aids every day from morning till night at first. You can gradually work your way up to it. Begin by wearing your hearing aid for a couple to a few hours a day. Having said that, you’ll want to work up to wearing your hearing aids all day, but you don’t have to start there.
- Get the right fit: Hearing aids are made to fit your ears comfortably. You’ll absolutely want to discuss your fit with your hearing specialist right away but you’ll also want to consult your hearing specialist for follow-up fittings to make certain everything is working properly and the fit is perfect. And for maximum effectiveness and comfort, you may want to consider a custom fit hearing aid.
You’re Hearing Aids Can be More Comfortable
For the first few days or weeks, there might be a little discomfort with your hearing aids. Pretty soon you’re hearing aids will become a comfortable part of your daily life and the sooner you make the adjustments, the sooner this will happen. Wearing them every day is critical to make that transition happen.
Before long all you will have to consider is what you hear, not how you hear it.