5 Steps to Success with Hearing Aids

A year long study was conducted to answer why some people succeed with their hearing aids and others do not. Some of our patients are able to wear their aids all day, while others struggle to wear them for an hour. From this study, five principles were pinned as significant indicators for success. The following summarizes their findings published in the acclaimed Five Steps to Better Hearing.

Step One: Admit I Have A Permanent Hearing Loss

By now you have had your hearing tested and the results explained. Now comes the decision to accept your loss or deny it. Often I hear patients struggling, yet when asked they claim to be fine. These are the same people who claim everyone around them is mumbling. Trying to hide or compensate can be more obvious than any pair of hearing aids. You can try to conceal your problem, but the symptoms (what?!) have already given your secret away. The aim here is to accept that with a little work and patience, hearing aids will help enhance your quality of life.

Step Two: A Good Attitude

Hearing aid studies have shown that people who have a positive outlook on life do better with hearing aids. They believe they are in control of their life. My recommendation is to be willing to try hearing aids, adapt to new solutions, and keep frustration at a minimum when obstacles arise. I will be the first to tell you, hearing aids will not bring you instant gratification. To achieve better hearing, you must work daily. The ability to hear again has to be relearned-not just purchased.

Step Three: Personal Education

Commit to learning all you can about your hearing loss. Ask your hearing healthcare professional the following:

What is the type of hearing loss I have?
What is the degree of loss in ears?
How has my brain been affected?
What can I do to improve my hearing?

The more you know about your particular loss, the better you will be able to participate in the adjustment to hearing aid use in various listening environments. Ask questions. Remember, your provider is your advocate! For further educational information on hearing loss, visit www.audiology.com

Step Four: Set Realistic Expectations 

Be realistic. Do not expect someone else's hearing aids to work for you. Would you wear their eyeglasses and decide whether you can be helped by glasses based on this experience? Be realistic. Remember that it takes time to get used to hearing aids, especially if you're a new wearer. Keep in mind that background noise is almost always part of your environment, and adjustment to it is required. In time, you will tune out many of these everyday sounds. It's important not to become disappointed or frustrated while your brain begins to adjust to a whole new world of sound. If you are an experienced wearer trying new hearing aids, understand that they might not sound like your old ones. Before you reject them, allow neural hook-ups in the auditory system to adapt to these new sounds. You just might find that you like this new sound better than the old one.

Step 5: Patience, Time, and Patience

Realize it is not likely you will walk out of your first fit appointment hearing perfectly. Hearing aids are not a simple cure all, but will need to be serviced and adjusted to you. Do not worry if it takes a few visits to get everything sorted out. With some tweaking and patience, most of these problems should be solved.

I suggest you write the issues down to share at your appointments. Identification of situations that cause you the most difficulty is a critical step. If you can describe difficult listening conditions, your provider can address the problems and develop strategies to help you manage them. If you need more information or clarification, ask for it. Most providers will be happy you asked. By all means talk to your hearing healthcare professional about these issues. The most important thing to us is that you are comfortable. That means comfortable with the price, product, and interactions at our office.