The 4 Most Frequent Mistakes Made by New Hearing Aid Owners

Modern hearing aids need to be cared for and will need some time to adjust to wearing them. Here are the four most common mistakes made by new hearing aid owners, and how to avoid them. 

Putting A Hearing Aid Straight Into Your

Don’t just take your new hearing aids out of the box and put it in. First, take the time to understand the basics of how it works, or you might miss out on some features. If you just turn them on, they might work well for you. 

You can instead fine-tune your hearing aid and figure out how to obtain the best sound quality you can by taking the time to read any documentation that came with it. When you buy a new hearing aid, you have will a basic idea of what it can do but take more time to learn how to use it properly. 

Not Taking the Adjustment Period Into Consideration

When you buy new glasses, your eyes need time to adapt to the charge in the lenses or the frame shape. The same is true for new hearing aids. The sound quality won’t work for you right away. Your ears need a couple of days to adapt to the change, especially if you haven’t worn a hearing aid before. Consistent use will help you to adapt more quickly. 

Leave your hearing aids in once you have put them in. You might have to fight the urge to remove them every few minutes at first. If you find them uncomfortable, try to work out why:

• Is the sound too loud? Should you turn the volume down?
• Are you overwhelmed by the background noise? Spend some time in a quiet place every day when you first put them in. Ask a friend if you are talking too loudly. This can help you to balance out the sound. 
• While you’re getting used to it, take out the hearing aid when it becomes uncomfortable. If the fit doesn’t feel right, go back to your hearing instrument specialist to have them looked at. 

The biggest mistake you can make is to give up. If you abandon your hearing aids, they won’t do you any good.

Failing To Get a Professional Fitting Upfront

Getting the right hearing aids starts before you even start shopping for them, and there’s a lot to consider. When you are with your hearing instrument specialist, if you’re not honest about what you can and can’t hear, this will be a problem for you. You could end up with a hearing aid that isn’t right for you. Some hearing aids will amplify a high-frequency sound, for example. These won’t work for you if you can’t hear mid or low tones. 

Your lifestyle might not seem all that compatible with having to use a hearing aid. If you need to be talking on your phone all the time, you will need a hearing aid with Bluetooth technology, for example. Talk to your hearing instrument specialist about your needs and concerns. 

While you are in the trial period with a new hearing aid, write down any times when you want your hearing aids to do something different or when they didn’t seem to work correctly. Your hearing instrument specialist can then talk these problems through with you and make adjustments or suggest an alternative option. 

When you buy your hearing aids, make sure you find a retailer that does free fittings. If your hearing aids don’t fit correctly, they won’t work correctly. 

Neglecting Maintenance

Successful upkeep of your hearing aids starts with knowing how and when to maintain them. Even if you have had hearing aids before, make sure you know how to care for your device. There are some things that you shouldn’t do with your hearing aids, such as using hair care products while you’re wearing them or removing them without turning them off. Read your user manual to find out what you shouldn’t do with yours. 

Look through the troubleshooting instructions and the maintenance guide. A large part of taking care of hearing aids is proper cleaning, so make sure you know how to do it. The hearing aid is not the only thing to that needs to be cleaned. Keeping your ears clean is important too. 

To get the most out of your new hearing aids, make sure you shop carefully, do your research, and take advice from your hearing instrument specialist. If you need help choosing the right hearing aid for your needs, make an appointment with Hearing Well Matters by calling us today at (647) 247-2704.