Tanya is sitting with her hearing specialist, being fitted for her very first pair of hearing aids. And it’s the reason for some level anxiety. Not, you know, a lot of anxiety. But hearing aids are new to her, and she’s somewhat worried about how comfortable she’ll feel with a high tech gadget inside of her ears, particularly because she’s not a big fan of earpods or earplugs.
Tanya’s concerns are not unusual. Fit and general comfort are worries for many first time hearing aid users. Tanya has every desire of wearing her hearing aids. Now she won’t need to turn up the TV so loud that it bothers her family or even the neighbors. But how comfortable are those hearing aids going to be?
Adapting to Hearing Aids For The First Time
So, are hearing aids uncomfortable? Simply put: some individuals find them to be a bit uncomfortable when they first wear them. Early comfort levels will vary because, as with many things in life, there’s a period of adjustment. But after a while, you’ll get used to how your hearing aids feel and become more comfortable.
Recognizing that these adjustments will occur can help relieve some of the stress. Knowing what to expect will help you get accustomed to your hearing aids in a healthy, sustainable, and comfortable way.
Adjusting to your hearing aid has two phases:
- Adjusting to the feeling of a hearing aid: Your hearing specialist might recommend that you start off slowly wearing your hearing aids so you can take some time to get used to how the device feels in your ear. Even so, there should not be any pain involved. You should speak with your hearing specialist if your hearing aid is causing pain.
- Becoming accustomed to a higher quality of sound: In some situations, the improvement in sound quality takes a little getting used to. If you’re like most people, you put off on getting hearing aids, and you’re not used to hearing a full range of sounds anymore. When you begin using your hearing aids, it might sound a little loud, or you might hear sounds that you aren’t used to hearing. Initially, this can be distracting. One of our readers complained, for example, that he could hear his hair scraping against his coat every time he moved his head. This is not uncommon. After a few weeks, your brain will block out the noises you don’t want to pay attention to.
If either the sound quality or the physical placement of the hearing aids is disturbing you, it’s essential to speak to your hearing specialist about adjustments to improve your general comfort and progress the period of adjustment.
How Can I Improve The Comfort of My Hearing Aids?
Over the years, fortunately, there are a few strategies that have worked pretty well.
- Start slow: You don’t need to wear your hearing aids every day from morning till night right away. You can take your time and work your way up to it. From one to four hours every day is a great way to start. Inevitably, you will be using your hearing aids all day, when you become comfortable with them.
- Get the right fit: Hearing aids are made to fit your ears properly. 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 make sure everything is working correctly and the fit is perfect. And for maximum effectiveness and comfort, you may want to consider a custom fit hearing aid.
- Practice: The world might sound quite a bit different once you get your hearing aids. And it might take some time for your ears to adjust, particularly when it comes to speech. In order to get the hang of it a little more quickly, there are lots of exercises you can do like watching a movie with caption or reading along with an audiobook.
You’re Hearing Aids Can be More Comfortable
Your hearing aids might feel a little uncomfortable for the first few days or weeks. Pretty soon you’re hearing aids will be a comfortable part of your daily life and the sooner you make the adjustments, the sooner this will occur. Wearing them every day is essential to make that transition work.
Before you know it, you’ll be focusing on is having good conversation with friends.
