Learn to Love your Hearing Aid

You did it! You took the first step of better hearing and had a hearing test. The results confirmed what you suspected – that you have hearing loss. You went with the audiologist’s advice and opted for a hearing device to improve your listening experience. Now the day of the fitting is here and you can’t wait to get started. In fact, you’re so excited you’ve arranged to go out for a celebratory dinner this evening to show off your new hearing skills with your partner.

Whoa, there! Hold on a second.

While your enthusiasm is absolutely to be applauded, it pays to take a longer view and train your ears up and learn how to listen again. This statement isn’t meant to be negative, because your positive attitude is invaluable at helping you adapt, but as with so many things in life, it’s best to walk before you can run.

When you are excited to hear again, the temptation is to put the hearing device in and wear it all day, home and away. But this approach is not recommended, primarily because your brain has to learn to cope with this new level of hearing.

If your hearing declined slowly over the years, you probably do not even realize that you no longer hear traffic, background chatter, and crying babies. With a hearing device, these forgotten sounds come back into focus again and compete against other sounds like your partner talking.

Differentiating sound pollution from conversation is a skill that your brain once had, but is likely now dormant. When you get a hearing device you have to wake that dormant part of your mind and train it again.

Audiologists suggest that you wear your new hearing device for a few hours a day for the first few days. It’s also a good idea to be at home where there are fewer sounds to confuse you. As you start to learn to put some sounds into the background and tune them out, then you can start increasing the amount of time your wear the device in more challenging environments.

Over the next three to four weeks, gradually increase the amount of time you wear the device. Also start to take short trips out, so that you become accustomed to the barrage of sound outside the home. It is a big mistake not to practice this, because if you wait until a special event to venture out wearing your hearing aid, the array of sounds from competing sources can seem overwhelming.

Some modern hearing aids can gradually increase the volume of sounds you will hear automatically.  It is a way to help ease you into new hearing aids.  Ask your audiologist is this is an option for you so that you can wear your hearing aids for longer periods of time during the day.

Remember the main reason people get put off is that they don’t take the time to give the brain a chance to adjust. Rest assured you did make the right decision, and you will learn to love your hearing aid.