You finally obtained those new hearing aids. You’re so thrilled to be able to dive into your social life again. No more missed transitions or unclear conversations. But there’s an issue: everything sounds just a little off.
The reason for this is that it will usually take some time before you adjust to your new hearing aids. Often, this transition can be frustrating. After all, there was so much you were looking forward to, and that adjustment period just feels so long.
But there are a few tips you can practice to reduce this transition period. With some practice, you can quickly get yourself to a place where you’re thinking less about your hearing aids, and tuning in to what you’re hearing.
Start slowly with these tips
Your brain will take a little time to get accustomed to hearing certain sounds again no matter how sophisticated your hearing aids are. Here are some ways you can purposely give yourself time to adjust and start things off slowly:
- Only wear your hearing aids for short periods of time at first: When you’re just beginning, you can practice by wearing your hearing aids for just a few hours at a time. They might feel a little uncomfortable at first (this is normal), so it’s good to start a little bit at a time. You can begin to use your hearing aids for longer periods as you get used to them.
- Focus on one-on-one conversations first: If you wear your hearing aids while eating at a crowded restaurant on your first day using the devices, you might be discouraged, not because the devices are doing anything wrong. When the brain has to pay attention to all those voices, it can become overwhelmed at first. By starting out with one-on-one conversations you will make the transition easier and also get a bit of extra practice.
- Use your hearing aids only around the house initially: When you’re at home, you have much more control over what you’re hearing, and you’ll probably experience considerably less noise pollution. This will help you focus on individual voices.
Tips that help you get extra practice in
Much like any other skill (and hearing is a skill, among other things), there are some activities that can help you practice with your hearing aids. Some of these are even enjoyable!
- Read along with the printed book while you listen to the audiobook.: This similar exercise can also be really enjoyable. Your brain will learn to make associations between sounds and words by employing this read along technique.
- Simply practice hearing: That’s right: sit in a quiet room and let your ears do the hearing. Start off by focusing on the sound of wind blowing through the trees or birds singing or nearby running water.
- Turn on closed-captions when you watch TV: It’s easy: Turn the TV on, put your hearing aids in, and enjoy. Your brain will begin remembering what certain words sound like when you read along with the voices you’re hearing. This can give you some practice hearing and adjusting to speech.
Tips to keep your hearing health strong
Keeping your ears as healthy as possible, after all, is one of the primary 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:
- If you have any pain, be sure you take note of it and tell us about it.: Your hearing aids shouldn’t hurt. So it’s important to let us know about any issues with fit or any pain right away.
- Keep visiting us: There might be a temptation to believe that once you’ve got the right hearing aids, you won’t need to see us anymore. This would be a bad idea. We can continue to watch your hearing, make sure the fit is comfortable, and make any required adjustments. These follow up appointments are really important.
Be patient, and work up to full-time hearing aids
Your objective here will be to work your way up to using your hearing aids all of the time. Everyone’s unique but the slow and steady strategy often works best. Learning the best ways to get comfortable with your new hearing aids is something we can help you with.
Following these tips (and tips like them) can help make sure that you enjoy having your hearing aids and that you keep using them because they continue to enrich your life.
