Tanya is being measured for a new pair of hearing aids by her hearing specialist. And she’s experiencing a little anxiety. Her anxiety isn’t really that bad. But she’s never had to use hearing aids before, and she’s a little stressed that she will feel uncomfortable with a high tech gadget sitting in her ear canal, especially because she doesn’t really like earpods or earplugs.
Tanya’s worries are not unusual. Countless first-time hearing aid users have fears about the overall fit and comfort of their hearing aids. Tanya wants to wear her hearing aid. Now she won’t need to turn up the television so loud that it irritates her family or even 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? The short response is: some people find them to be a little bit uncomfortable when they first wear them. As with lots of things in life, there’s an adjustment period, which means your initial level of comfort will vary. But in time, you’ll become accustomed to how your hearing aids feel and become more comfortable.
Sometimes it’s just good to know that these adjustments are coming. Knowing what you should expect will help your adjustment period be smoother.
Adjusting to your hearing aid includes two phases:
In order to enhance your general comfort and quicken the adjustment period, speak to 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?
Over the years, fortunately, there are a few strategies that have worked pretty well.
- Start slow: You don’t have to wear your hearing aids 24/7 right away. You can take your time and work your way up to it. Begin by wearing your hearing aid for one to four hours a day. With that being said, you’ll want to build up to using your hearing aids all day, but you don’t have to begin there.
- Practice: Once you get your hearing aids, the world isn’t going to sound quite the same. Adapting to sound, particularly speech, may take some time. There are many exercises (reading along with an audiobook or watching TV with the closed captions on) that can help you get the hang of this a little faster.
- Get the right fit: Hearing aids are made to fit your ears well. You’ll absolutely want to discuss your fit with your hearing specialist right away but you’ll also want to consult your hearing specialist for follow-up fittings to make certain everything is working correctly and the fit is perfect. You might also want to think about a custom fit hearing aid for maximum effectiveness and comfort.
Making Your Hearing Aids More Comfortable
Your hearing aids may feel a little awkward for the first few days or weeks. Before long you’re hearing aids will be a comfortable part of your daily life and the sooner you make the adjustments, the sooner this will happen. In order to really make that transition, it’s critical that you wear them on a daily basis.
Before you know it, you’ll be thinking about is having good conversation with friends.