You’ve been waiting for this day for quite a while. You got your new hearing aids. You’re finally going to be able to get back into the swing of your social life again. No more missed transitions or confused conversations. But your hearing aids just don’t sound quite right.
That’s because it’ll probably take you some time to adjust to a new pair of hearing aids. Often, this transition can be annoying. After all, there was so much you were looking forward to, and that adjustment period just feels so slow.
The good news is, there are a few tips that can help accelerate the transition process. With a little practice, you can quickly get yourself to a place where you’re paying less attention to hearing aids, and tuning in to what you’re hearing.
Start slowly with these tips
Your brain will take a little time to get used to hearing certain sounds again regardless of how sophisticated your hearing aids are. Use these tips to start slowly and purposely give your ears time to adapt.:
- Start by wearing your hearing aids at home only: When you’re at home, you have a lot more control over what you’re hearing, and you’ll likely experience significantly less noise pollution. This will help you focus on individual voices.
- Initially, try to focus on one-on-one conversations: If you wear your hearing aids while eating at a crowded restaurant on your first day you get them, you might be disappointed, not because the hearing aids are doing anything wrong. It’s just that it’s difficult for your ear and brain to cope with focusing on all those different voices. Sticking to one-on-one conversations can help make that transition easier (and give you a bit of extra practice, as well).
- Use your hearing aids for a short period of time: When you’re just starting, you can practice by using your hearing aids for just a few hours at a time. They may feel a little funny at first (this is normal), so it’s good to start slowly. You can begin to use your hearing aids for longer periods as you get used to them.
Tips that help you get extra practice in
There are some activities, as with any skill, that can help you practice hearing. You may even have a little fun!
- Turn on closed-captions when you watch TV: It’s easy: put your hearing aids in, flip on the TV, and watch your favorite program. As you read the dialog you’ll also be hearing the actors speak, and your brain will start remembering what all these words sound like. This can give you some practice hearing and adjusting to speech.
- Do some listening practice: That’s right: Sit someplace a little quiet and take in the sounds around you. You can practice by focusing on trying to hear the refrigerator running or the cat meowing in the other room or the birds chirping outside.
- Read along with the printed book while you listen to the audiobook.: This is a really similar exercise (and allows you to get in some fun reading while you’re at it). Reading and listening to an audiobook simultaneously will help your brain make associations between words and sound.
Improve your hearing health with these tips
Keeping your ears as healthy as possible, after all, is one of the main purposes of hearing aids. And there are some tips you can do to keep your ears happy as you get used to wearing your new hearing aid:
- Keep visiting us: There might be a temptation to believe that once you’ve got the right hearing aids, you won’t need to have anymore hearing exams. This would be the worst idea. We can help tune your hearing aids, keep the fit comfortable, and continue to keep an eye on your hearing. These follow up visits are really important.
- Be certain to take note of and report any pain: Because it shouldn’t be painful to wear hearing aids. So it’s important to report any issues with fit or any pain right away.
Take your time, and work up to full-time hearing aids
Working your way up to using your hearing aids full time is the goal here. Everyone’s unique but the slow and steady strategy 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 live a more enjoyable and enriched life with your new hearing aids.