Tanya is visiting her hearing specialist, being fitted for her very first set of hearing aids. And she’s feeling a little anxious. Not, you know, a lot of anxiety. But she’s never used hearing aids before, and she’s a little stressed that she will feel uncomfortable with a high tech gadget inside of her ears, especially since she’s never been a huge fan of earplugs or earbuds.
These concerns are not only felt by Tanya. Countless first-time hearing aid users have doubts about the comfort and general fit of their hearing aids. Tanya has every intention of wearing her hearing aids. Now she won’t need to crank up the TV so loud that it disturbs her family or even her neighbors. But will those hearing aids be fit her ears comfortably?
How to Adjust When You First Use Your Hearing Aids
So, is wearing hearing aids uncomfortable? Simply put: some individuals experience them as a little bit uncomfortable when they first use them. As with lots of things in life, there’s an adjustment time, which means your initial level of comfort will vary. But in time, you’ll get used to the feeling of your hearing aids and become more comfortable.
At times it’s just good to recognize that these adjustments are will happen. Knowing what to expect will help you acclimate to your hearing aids in a healthy, sustainable, and comfortable way.
There are two stages to your adjustment:
If either the sound quality or the physical positioning of the hearing aids is annoying you, it’s essential to consult your hearing specialist about adjustments to enhance your general comfort and quicken the adjustment period.
How Can I Improve The Comfort of My Hearing Aids?
Thankfully, there are a few methods that have proven to be fairly successful over the years.
- Get the right fit: Fitting your ears comfortably is what hearing aids are designed to do. You’ll definitely want to discuss your fit with your hearing specialist right off the bat, but you’ll also want to see your hearing specialist for follow-up fittings to be certain everything is working correctly and the fit is just right. You may also want to consider a custom fit hearing aid for optimal effectiveness and comfort.
- Start slow: If you’re breaking in your first set of hearing aids, you shouldn’t feel as though you have to wear them all day, every day right off the bat. You can gradually work your way up to it. Begin by wearing your hearing aid for a couple to a few hours a day. Ultimately, you will be using your hearing aids all day, when you get comfortable with them.
- Practice: Once have your hearing aids, the world isn’t going to sound quite the same. Adjusting to sound, particularly speech, might take a while. There are many practices (reading along with an audiobook or watching TV with the closed captions turned on) that can help you get better at this a little faster.
Making Your Hearing Aids More Comfortable
For the first few days or weeks, there may be some discomfort with your hearing aids. But the faster you adapt to your new hearing aids, the faster they’ll become a comfortable part of your everyday life. Wearing them on a daily basis is critical to make that transition happen.
Before long all you will have to consider is what you hear, not how you hear it.
