So, it’s not very often that you wear your hearing aids? Most of the time you keep them in the drawer unless you are, for example, going to a party or to the theater. Do you really need to use them more often than that?
Over the long term, you make problems for yourself if you’re not wearing your hearing aids on a regular basis and that’s an issue. You could damage your hearing irreversibly. Social isolation and cognitive decline could be the outcome. You may compromise your general health. So, if you’re not using your hearing aids, you should certainly be reading this.
Why Aren’t Your Hearing Aids in Your Ears?
If your hearing aids are sitting unused in a nightstand drawer somewhere, you likely have a reason. Sure, maybe you haven’t specifically been honest about what those reasons might be. Maybe, when your family questions you, you might even say something nondescript and evasive, such as, “I just don’t like them”.
Certainly, though, there’s more to the story than that. If you dig a little deeper, you’ll most likely find that there’s a specific 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 Don’t Feel That Comfortable”
Discomfort is one of the most frequently cited grounds for people not using their hearing aids. Maybe the hearing aid won’t stop falling out of your ear. Or maybe your over-the-ear model chafes in just the wrong spot, causing tenderness and pain.
Hearing aids aren’t supposed to be unpleasant, so if they’re causing irritation of any kind, something is certainly wrong. And it’s easy to understand that you wouldn’t want to use a piece of technology that causes soreness, pain, or frustration.
Possible solution: If your hearing aids are not comfortable, consider scheduling an additional or follow-up fitting session. A few small tweaks could be all your hearing aid requires. Some models can even be completely personalized to the shape and size of your ears. You will be capable of leaving your hearing aid in longer if it fits well and is comfortable.
My Hearing Aid Has Poor Sound Quality
Maybe you don’t wear your hearing aids very often because you experiencing the sound to be fuzzy or tinny. If that’s the circumstance, it’s not surprising that you’ve decided to stow your hearing aids in your nightstand drawer and save them for “special occasions”.”
This tinny or fuzzy sound can happen because hearing aids are doing complex auditory functions all the time, amplifying some sounds while filtering out others. So the sound quality might seem unreliable if your settings aren’t properly tweaked.
Solution: This difficulty has two possible answer: calibration and maintenance. Your hearing aids could be broken in some form or another and require repairing. But it might be possible that they just need a simple calibration (usually this is something your hearing specialist can take care of for you).
When I Use My Hearing Aid, Voices Are Muffled
When you listen to people talk, you want to be able to hear them with clarity. When you first got hearing aids that was the whole reason! You didn’t want to miss a single word. So it could be a little bit frustrating if all the voices you hear when your wearing you’re hearing aid are muffled or hard to comprehend.
Because your ears and brain aren’t communicating effectively anymore, this problem commonly happens when you first buy your hearing aids.
The Solution: Practice. Comprehending what people are saying is something your brain will need to become accustomed to, so putting yourself in a position to hear people talking regularly will be helpful. Try reading along with an audiobook or reading along with the closed captioning while watching television. Another way to get some good practice is by simply having conversations with people you come in contact with.
Getting Answers
You can discover an answer regardless of why you’re not wearing your hearing aid. And it is imperative, both for the health of your hearing and for your cognitive fitness, that you use your hearing aids regularly.
So if your hearing aids don’t seem to be working well for you? After determining the problem, find a solution, so you can get involved in your life again. If you suspect your hearing aids require adjustment, consult your hearing care specialist now.