5 Mistakes Every New Hearing Aid Owner Makes

If you just received your first hearing aid, you need to be aware of how the technology works. Your hearing care specialist will discuss with you the benefits of your hearing aid and how best to take care of it. Although you will receive extensive information about your new device, there are some common mistakes that you may still find yourself making. These mistakes are typical of new hearing aid owners, so you need to be aware of them.

Failing to Learn About Your Hearing Aid

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make is not learning as much about your device as possible. When you first receive a device from your hearing care practitioner, you will be advised on its care. However, once you get home with the device you need to take a look at the specific settings that your hearing aid has, that could be of benefit to you.

The more you understand your device and tweak the settings until they are perfect for your needs, the happier you will be with your hearing aid.

Expecting Miraculous Hearing Improvements

While it is true that a hearing aid will improve the quality of your hearing dramatically. You need to keep your expectations realistic. Over time as your hearing adjusts to the hearing aid, you learn how to properly use it in different settings, you will see dramatic improvements in your hearing. 

However, it can take some time before everything is working at the optimum level. If you are patient and committed to using your hearing aid you will make a lot of progress. Going through all the necessary learning curves will allow you to see a dramatic improvement in your hearing over time.

Holding Back Information During Your Hearing Test 

When you go for your hearing test you need to make sure that you tell your hearing care professional everything you possibly can about your hearing loss. You should not try to downplay anything about the situation. Doing this can make you end up with the wrong hearing aid. Some hearing aids are better for people with high-frequency hearing loss. Additionally, some are better for people who cannot hear mid-frequency sounds.

This is why you should always be honest about the quality of your hearing at the time of the test. The higher the accuracy of the test the better your hearing aid will be. 

Not Looking at Your Progress

Take a close look at your progress, and monitor it. You can take notes so that you can have a look at them over time and share them with your hearing health professional as well. Be detailed about the problems you are encountering with the hearing aid. For example, if you’re having problems hearing in wide open spaces then you should write that down. 

These are the details that are going to help your hearing provider to fine-tune your hearing aid so that it is a custom fit for your needs. Needless to say, the more custom-fitted your hearing aid is the better off you will be.

Not Properly Caring for Your Hearing Aid

Another critical mistake that you can make is not taking care of your hearing aid. You must make sure that you are taking the time to clean the hearing aid properly. Avoid getting moisture in the hearing aid by taking it out before you shower. Be aware of any build-up such as ear wax or skin cells in your hearing aid. You need to clean this up immediately to maintain the quality of the sound that you get from the device.

Not Keeping Track of Your Progress

There’s no doubt that a hearing aid can help you to hear better. However, when you have hearing difficulties, parts of your brain that interpret sounds have also been affected. This means that you will need to do things intentionally to retrain your brain. Some ways that you can do this are by reading out loud or getting audiobooks instead of regular books. This will help you to develop your hearing skills once again.

Get Ready to Hear the World Around You Again

A hearing aid is a great tool for helping to improve the quality of your life. Hearing loss can take away from your enjoyment of certain activities. Fortunately, getting a hearing aid will make things better and you will get maximum usage out of them as long as you take the time to avoid the mistakes discussed here. You can learn more by contacting Hear Again America at (877) 905-9493.