Take time to get used to your hearing aid
Getting used to hearing aids takes a while and you should allow yourself enough time to do so.
Make sure you know how the controls work. Practise putting them in and taking them out. This may seem awkward at first but most people can do this without thinking within a week or so. If necessary, your audiologist can show you again how to do it.
Take time to get used to the hearing aid’s sound. It will allow you to hear things that you may not have heard for a long time. Because of this they are unlikely to sound completely natural.
For instance, people often find that their own voice appears particularly strange. Don’t worry about this to begin with but if you have not become accustomed to your own voice within a couple of weeks you should tell your hearing aid audiologist.
Remember that your brain has become used to not hearing many sounds and will take time to adjust. Build up your use of the hearing aid gradually. Start by listening to easier sounds, such as the news on the television. Don’t try to use it in difficult listening situations, such as outside or in noisy places, until you are really used to its sound.
Build up wearing time gradually to avoid discomfort
It is also important to allow your ear to get used to wearing the ear mould. If you use your hearing aid all day, every day, straight away you can make your ear uncomfortable. It is best to build up gently, starting with half an hour a day and increasing to all day after a few weeks. Remember to switch off your aid when you take it out.
John Waters of Folkestone said: “I was first told I had a hearing problem when I joined up for national service, probably the result of a bad accident when I was 20. When I was in my 30s I was fitted with a rather cumbersome hearing aid at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Folkestone which I didn’t really bother with. Recently, I noticed my hearing had got worse. I couldn’t hear the television very well and when I went to a party I couldn’t hear a thing for all the background noise.
“I decided to talk to my GP and I was referred to Hearbase in Sandgate Road, Folkestone. Within eight weeks I was fitted with a hearing aid. It was remarkably quick and the service was excellent. I’ve got used to wearing it and can now hear most things.”