So, it’s not very often that you use your hearing aids? Perhaps you put them in when you go to a party or go to the theater, but otherwise, you leave them in the drawer. Do you actually need to wear them more often than that?
In the long run, you create difficulty for yourself if you’re not wearing your hearing aids on a regular basis and that’s an issue. You could irreversibly damage your hearing. Social isolation and cognitive decline could be the consequences. Your general health might be affected. So, if you aren’t using your hearing aids, you should certainly be reading this.
Why Aren’t You Wearing Your Hearing Aid?
If your hearing aids are stored in a nightstand drawer somewhere, you most likely have a reason. Sure, perhaps you haven’t specifically been forthcoming about what those reasons might be. Maybe, when your family asks, you might even say something generic and evasive, such as, “I just don’t like them”.
Certainly, though, there’s more to it than that. If you go a little deeper, you’ll most likely find that there’s a particular grievance at the heart of your sporadic hearing aid use. And there’s also a very specific solution to your issue.
Some of the most frequent grievances include the examples below;
“My Hearing Aids Feel Uncomfortable”
One of the most regularly mentioned reasons that people discontinue wearing their hearing aids regularly is discomfort. Perhaps the hearing aid keeps falling out of your ear. Or perhaps your over-the-ear model chafes in just the wrong spot, causing pain and tenderness.
It’s not supposed to be uncomfortable to use hearing aids, so if they’re causing discomfort of any kind, something is certainly not right. And soreness, frustration, and pain are not things you would desire from any piece of technology.
Possible solution: If you’re not comfortable with your hearing aids, think about scheduling an additional or follow-up fitting session. It’s entirely possible that the way your hearing aid fits just requires a couple of quick alterations. Some designs can even be completely personalized to the shape and size of your ears. The more comfortable your hearing aid fits, the more likely you are to keep it in place for long periods of time.
My Hearing Aid Has Poor Sound Quality
It’s possible you don’t use your hearing aids regularly because you experiencing the sound to be tinny or fuzzy. If that’s the circumstance, it’s not shocking that you’ve decided to store your hearing aids in your nightstand drawer and save them for “special occasions”.”
This tinny or fuzzy sound can happen because hearing aids are carrying out complicated auditory processes at all times, filtering out some sounds while trying to amplify others. So the sound quality may seem hard to rely on if your settings aren’t properly tweaked.
Solution: This problem has two possible answer: maintenance and calibration. It’s possible that your hearing aids are broken in some form or another and require repairs. But it might be possible that they just need a simple calibration (usually this is something your hearing specialist can do for you).
When I Use my Hearing Aid Voices Are Muffled
You need to hear voices with clarity. That’s the entire reason why you bought hearing aids to begin with! You didn’t want to miss one word. So if all the voices you hear are difficult to comprehend and are muffled it might be a little bit discouraging.
Because your ears and brain aren’t communicating very well anymore, this problem normally happens when you first get your hearing aids.
Solution: Practice. Your brain will have to get used to hearing language again, so putting yourself in situations where you can hear people talking regularly will be helpful. Try reading along to an audiobook or reading along with the closed captioning while watching tv. Merely having more conversations with the people around you is a perfect way to practice, as well.
Finding Solutions
You can discover a solution no matter what the reason you’re not wearing your hearing aid. And you need to wear your hearing aid consistently in order to safeguard your cognitive health and the health of your hearing.
So if your hearing aids aren’t be working perfectly for you? After determining the issue, find a solution, so you can help your hearing aids, and everything that they help you hear, part of your everyday life. If you think your hearing aids require adjustment, get in touch with your hearing care specialist right away.