Tanya is being measured for a new pair of hearing aids by her hearing specialist. And she’s feeling a little anxious. Her anxiety isn’t actually that bad. But hearing aids are new to her, and she’s somewhat worried about how comfortable she’ll feel with a high tech gizmo sitting in her ear canal, especially because she doesn’t really like earpods or earplugs.
These concerns are not only felt by Tanya. Lots of first-time hearing aid users have fears about the comfort and general fit of their hearing aids. Tanya has every intention of wearing her hearing aids. She’s looking forward to hearing her son’s music and listening to her television at a volume not likely to cause trouble with the neighbors. But will those hearing aids be comfortable?
Adjusting to Hearing Aids For The First Time
So, are hearing aids uncomfortable? Simply put: some individuals find them to be a little bit uncomfortable when they first use them. Early levels of comfort will fluctuate because, like many things in life, there’s an adjustment period. But you will feel more comfortable after a while as you become acquainted with your hearing aids.
Sometimes it’s just nice to realize that these adjustments are coming. Knowing what you should expect can help you acclimate to your hearing aids in a healthy, sustainable, and comfortable way.
Adapting to your hearing aid includes two parts:
In order to enhance your overall comfort and speed up the adjustment period, consult your hearing specialist if you’re having trouble with the physical placement or sound quality of your hearing aids.
Can I Make my Hearing Aids More Comfortable?
Thankfully, there are a few strategies that have proven to be rather effective over the years.
- Practice: Once you get your hearing aids, the world won’t sound quite the same. And it may take a while for your ears to adjust, especially when it comes to speech. In order to get the hang of it a little more quickly, there are a number of 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 set of hearing aids, you shouldn’t feel as if you need to wear them all day, every day right off the bat. You can build up to that. From one to four hours every day is a great way to start. Eventually, you will be wearing your hearing aids all day, when you become comfortable with them.
- Get the right fit: Fitting your ears properly is what hearing aids are designed to do. It may take a number of visits with your hearing specialist to get everything working and just the right fit. You may also want to think about a custom fit hearing aid for optimal comfort and effectiveness.
You’re Hearing Aids Can be More Comfortable
For the first few days or weeks, there might be a little discomfort with your hearing aids. But the more quickly you adjust to your new hearing aids, the faster they’ll become a comfortable part of your daily life. In order to make that transition, it’s critical that you wear them every day.
Before you know it, you’ll be focusing on is having good conversation with friends.