Tanya is being fitted 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 she’s never used hearing aids before, and she’s a little concerned about how comfortable she’ll feel with a high tech gizmo inside of her ears, especially since she’s never been a big fan of earbuds or earplugs.
These concerns are not only felt by Tanya. Fit and overall comfort are worries for many new hearing aid users. Tanya has every intention of wearing her hearing aids. She’s looking forward to hearing her son’s jokes and listening to her TV at a level not likely to cause trouble with the neighbors. But how comfortable will those hearing aids be?
How to Adapt When You First Wear Your Hearing Aids
So, are hearing aids uncomfortable? Put simply: some people find them to be a little uncomfortable when they first use them. Initial comfort levels will vary because, like many things in life, there’s an adjustment period. But over time, you’ll get used to how your hearing aids feel and become more comfortable.
Sometimes it’s just good to recognize that these adjustments are coming. Knowing what you should expect will help your adjustment period be smoother.
Adapting to your hearing aid includes two parts:
- Becoming comfortable with a higher quality of sound: In some situations, the improvement in sound quality takes a little adjusting to. For the majority of people who have been dealing with hearing loss for a long time, it will likely take some time to get used to hearing a full range of sound. When you begin using your hearing aids, it might sound a little bit loud, or you might hear frequencies that you aren’t used to hearing. At first, this can be annoying. One of our readers complained, for example, that he could hear his hair scraping against his coat every time he moved his head. This isn’t unusual. In a short period of time, your brain will make the necessary adjustments to noises it doesn’t need to hear.
In order to enhance your general comfort and speed up the adjustment period, get in touch with your hearing specialist if you are experiencing trouble with the physical positioning or sound quality of your hearing aids.
Can I Make my Hearing Aids More Comfortable?
Over the years, luckily, there are a few strategies that have worked pretty well.
- Practice: Once you get your hearing aids, the world isn’t going to sound quite the same. And it might take a while for your ears to adapt, specifically when it comes to the spoken word. There are many practices (reading along with an audiobook or watching TV with the closed captions on) that can help you get better at this a little more quickly.
- Get the right fit: Hearing aids are designed to fit your ears comfortably. It could take a few consultations with your hearing specialist to get everything functioning and fitting just right. And for optimal effectiveness and comfort, you may want to think about a custom fit hearing aid.
- Start slow: You don’t need to wear your hearing aids 24/7 right away. You can gradually work your way up to it. From one to four hours every day is a good way to start. Eventually, you will be using your hearing aids all day, when you get comfortable with them.
You’re Hearing Aids Can be More Comfortable
Your hearing aids might feel a little awkward for the first few days or weeks. Before long you’re hearing aids will become a comfortable part of your day to day life and the sooner you make the adjustments, the sooner this will occur. In order to really make that transition, it’s essential that you wear them every day.
Pretty soon, all you’ll be thinking about is having good conversation with friends.