You finally got your new hearing aids. You’re so excited to be able to dive into your social life again. No more bad transitions or confused conversations. But there’s an issue: everything sounds a little bit off.
The reason for this is that it will usually take a bit of time before you get used to your new hearing aids. This can be an annoying transition. After all, there was so much you were excited to do, and that adjustment period just feels so slow.
But there are a few tips you can use to reduce this transition period. Before long, with a bit of practice, you will be focusing on what you’re hearing instead of your hearing aids.
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 take it slowly:
- Wear your hearing aids for a short duration: When you’re just starting, you can practice by wearing your hearing aids for only a few hours at a time. Your hearing aids will probably feel a little strange in your ears for a while so starting slowly is okay. You can begin to wear your hearing aids for longer durations as you become accustomed to them.
- Focus on one-on-one conversations first: You could be setting yourself up for disappointment if you use your hearing aids in a noisy environment right out of the box. When the brain needs to pay attention to all those voices, it can get overloaded at first. By starting out with one-on-one conversations you will make the transition easier and also get a bit of extra practice.
- Begin by using your hearing aids at home only: You’ll be less likely to experience noise pollution at home and you will be able to have a better degree of control over the sounds you’re hearing. This will help you focus on individual voices.
Tips that help you get added practice in
There are some things you can do, as with any skill, that can help you practice hearing. You might even have some fun!
- Do some listening exercise: That’s right: sit in a quiet room and let your ears do the hearing. You can practice by concentrating on trying to hear the fridge running or the cat meowing in another room or the birds chirping outside.
- Watch TV with the closed-captions on: 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.
- Read along with the printed version while you listen to the audiobook.: This similar exercise can also be really enjoyable. Reading and listening to an audiobook concurrently will help your brain make associations between sounds and words.
Tips to keep your hearing health up
Keeping your ears as healthy as you can, after all, is one of the principal purposes of hearing aids. But, as you take some time to get used to your new hearing aids, there are a few things you can do that your ears will thank you for.:
- Keep visiting us: There might be a temptation to believe that once you have the right hearing aids, you won’t need to see us anymore. This would be the worst idea. We can help tune your hearing aids, keep the fit comfortable, and continue to check in on your hearing. These follow up visits are really important.
- If you have any pain, make sure you document it and report it to us.: Because it shouldn’t hurt to wear hearing aids. So if you’re noticing any pain or something’s not fitting right, it’s important to let us know as soon as you can.
Go slow and maximize your time as you get used to your 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 approach usually works best. Understanding the best ways to get comfortable with your new hearing aids is something we can help you with.
Implementing these tips (and tips like them) can help ensure that you enjoy having your hearing aids and that you keep using them because they continue to enhance your life.
