Tanya is sitting with her hearing specialist, being measured for her very first pair of hearing aids. And it’s causing her some level anxiety. Her anxiety isn’t actually that bad. But hearing aids are new to her, and she’s somewhat stressed about how comfortable she’ll feel with a high tech gadget sitting in her ear canal, especially because she’s not a big fan of earpods or earplugs.
Tanya’s concerns are not unusual. Lots of first-time hearing aid users have fears about the general fit and comfort of their hearing aids. Tanya wants to use her hearing aid. She’s anticipating hearing her son’s jokes and listening to her TV at a volume not likely to cause problems with the neighbors. But will those hearing aids be fit her ears comfortably?
Adapting to Hearing Aids For The First Time
So, are hearing aids uncomfortable? Simply put: some individuals experience them as a bit uncomfortable when they first wear them. Early comfort levels will vary because, like many things in life, there’s a period of adjustment. But you will become more comfortable in time as you become acquainted with your hearing aids.
Knowing that these adjustments will occur can help relieve some of the stress. Knowing what to expect will help your adjustment period be smoother.
There are two steps to your adjustment:
In order to enhance your overall comfort and quicken the adjustment period, speak to 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?
Thankfully, there are a few methods that have proven to be fairly effective over the years.
- Practice: Once have your hearing aids, the world won’t sound quite the same. Adjusting to sound, particularly speech, could take some time. In order to get the hang of it a little more quickly, there are numerous practices you can do including watching a movie with caption or reading along with an audiobook.
- Start slow: If you’re breaking in your first pair of hearing aids, you shouldn’t feel as if you have to wear them all day, every day 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. That said, you’ll want to work up to wearing your hearing aids all day, but you don’t have to start there.
- Get the right fit: Fitting your ears comfortably is what hearing aids are designed to do. It might take a few consultations with your hearing specialist to get everything functioning and fitting just right. You might also want to think about a custom fit hearing aid for maximum effectiveness and comfort.
Making Your Hearing Aids More Comfortable
For the first few days or weeks, there might be a little discomfort with your hearing aids. Before long you’re hearing aids will become a comfortable part of your everyday life and the sooner you make the adjustments, the sooner this will occur. Wearing them on a daily basis is crucial to make that transition work.
Before you know it, you’ll be focusing on is having good conversation with friends.