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After the entire process of choosing hearing aids, selecting the perfect make and initial fittings are over, what’s next? Some people might head back out into the world thinking that they’ve flipped a switch and normal healthy hearing levels will be automatically restored. This isn’t typically the case at first, and as such, a few recommendations for befriending your new hearing aids are necessary.
Take It Slow
You’ve really only just been matched up. You barely know one another. The first piece of advice to take to heart is to take it slow with your new hearing aids. Don’t expect to be comfortable in every listening situation you encounter. Having hearing aids will dramatically improve your listening experience, but it might take a bit of time to adjust.
We often think of the ears as our primary hearing apparatus. In fact, much of what we consider hearing actually happens in the brain. Sound information, or what we might call noise, is received by the ear. It’s those tiny, delicate nerves of the inner ear that decline as we age and are responsible for most age-related or traumatic hearing loss, that serve as our sound receptors. Once noise or sound information is received, it travels along the auditory nerve directly into the brain. It is here that sound becomes information.
When hearing loss has been present for a long time, possibly longer than we were even aware due to its subtle nature, the brain doesn’t receive all the information it is used to. The same ingenious design that makes us so adaptable also harms us in some cases. When the brain receives less sound information, it begins to adapt or no longer seek those sounds. With new hearing aids, we have to give the brain time to relearn how to process the new sound information into hearing that makes sense to us.
Keep Hearing Aids On
Wear your new hearing aids as much as possible. When we talk about the ways that the brain is involved in hearing, you might think of it as a tireless researcher. The brain is constantly analyzing the outside world and the ways it relates in order to be the most efficient and successful tool possible. For that reason, it’s important to give this tireless researcher the maximum amount of data possible. Keeping hearing aids on is a way for the brain to practice hearing and translating sound, thereby gathering more and more information to interact with.
Keep Hearing Aids Clean And Dry
The greatest risk of malfunction in hearing aids comes with overexposure to heat and moisture. For this reason, it’s important to take them out at night to give your hearing aids the opportunity to dry. Exposure to moisture can come in the form of external conditions or perhaps even just with wear. Either way, monitoring and eliminating moisture can add years of life to your devices. This is also a magnificent time to clean your hearing aids. Always use a soft, dry cloth. For stubborn wax buildup, it’s okay to use a slightly dampened cloth or even a baby wipe every now and again. Never, ever use a soaking wet instrument, running water or harsh chemical cleaners.
Keep A Positive Mental Attitude
Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will a hearing aid be a life panacea in one, either. Maintaining a can-do attitude might feel difficult at times, but it considerably lessens perceived suffering. It also helps new users retain a certain degree of patience with themselves. Over time, this new way of being in the world will become second nature.
Continue Your Relationship With Us At Hearing Spa
Here at Hearing Spa, our team is here to support you with your listening experience with your hearing aids. While this may be the first and only pair of hearing aids you’ve owned, our team sees all types of hearing aid situations and conditions in the course of our day. This is just the sort of expertise that is of the utmost importance right now.
Take the time to go in and share your experience. If adjustments are necessary, we will make sure that you experience the best listening experience with your new hearing aids.
