Tanya is sitting with her hearing specialist, being fitted for her very first pair of hearing aids. And she’s experiencing a little anxiety. Not, you know, a ton of anxiety. But hearing aids are new to her, and she’s a little concerned that she will be uncomfortable with a high tech gadget sitting in her ears, particularly because she’s not a big fan of earpods or earplugs.
Tanya’s concerns are not unusual. Fit and general comfort are doubts for many new hearing aid users. Tanya wants to use her hearing aid. Now she won’t need to crank the TV up so loud that it irritates her family or even her neighbors. But will those hearing aids be fit her ears comfortably?
How to Adjust When You First Wear Your Hearing Aids
So, are hearing aids uncomfortable? The short answer is: some individuals find them to be a little bit uncomfortable when they first use them. As with many things in life, there’s an adjustment time, which means your early level of comfort will vary. But in time, you’ll become accustomed to the feeling of your hearing aids and become more comfortable.
Knowing that these adjustments will occur can help ease some of the stress. Knowing what to expect will help your adjustment period be smoother.
Adjusting to your hearing aid has two parts:
If either the sound quality or the physical positioning of the hearing aids is disturbing you, it’s essential to speak to your hearing specialist about adjustments to enhance your all-around comfort and quicken the period of adjustment.
How Can I Enhance The Comfort of My Hearing Aids?
Fortunately, there are a few strategies that have proven to be fairly effective over the years.
- Start slow: If you’re breaking in your first pair of hearing aids, you shouldn’t feel like you have 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 good way to begin. Inevitably, you will be using your hearing aids all day, when you get comfortable with them.
- Practice: The world may sound just a little bit different after you get your hearing aids. And it could take some time for your ears to adjust, particularly when it comes to speech. There are many practices (reading along with an audiobook or watching TV with the closed captions turned on) that can help you get better at this a little faster.
- Get the right fit: Fitting your ears comfortably is what hearing aids are made to do. It may take several visits with your hearing specialist to get everything working and fitting just right. And for optimal comfort and effectiveness, you might want to think about a custom fit hearing aid.
You’re Hearing Aids Can be More Comfortable
For the first few days or weeks, there may be a little discomfort with your hearing aids. But the faster you adjust to your new hearing aids, the faster they’ll become a comfortable part of your everyday life. Wearing them on a daily basis is essential to make that transition work.
Before you know it, you’ll be focusing on is having good conversation with friends.