So you don’t use your hearing aids all that often? Maybe you put them in when you go to a party or go to the theater, but in most cases, you leave them in the drawer. Do you actually need to use them more often than that?
In the long run, you make trouble for yourself if you’re not using your hearing aids on a regular basis and that’s an issue. Your hearing may get significantly worse. Social isolation and cognitive decline could be the consequences. Your overall health could be compromised. So, if you are not wearing your hearing aids, you should definitely pay attention to this.
Why Aren’t Your Hearing Aids in Your Ears?
If your hearing aids are sitting unused in a nightstand drawer somewhere, you probably have an excuse. You may have decided to keep those reasons to yourself. Maybe you evade the questions from your family when they ask why you don’t wear them.
Undoubtedly, though, there’s more to it than that. If you dig a little deeper, you’ll likely find that there’s a specific complaint at the heart of your irregular hearing aid use. And there’s also a very exact solution to your problem.
Some of the most typical issues include the examples below;
“My Hearing Aids Don’t Feel Comfortable”
Discomfort is one of the most commonly cited grounds for people not wearing their hearing aids. Perhaps the hearing aid keeps falling out of your ear. Or perhaps pain and tenderness are occurring in just the wrong spot with your over-the-ear model.
It’s not supposed to be uncomfortable to use hearing aids, so something is surely wrong if they’re causing any kind of irritation. 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 you’re uncomfortable with your hearing aids, a follow-up fitting session is something you should think about. It’s quite feasible that the way your hearing aid fits simply needs a couple of quick adjustments. Some models can even be entirely customized to the size and shape 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
Perhaps you don’t wear your hearing aids very often because you find the sound to be fuzzy or tinny. If that’s the situation, it’s not shocking that you’ve decided to store your hearing aids in your nightstand drawer and save them for “special occasions”.”
Hearing aids are executing complex auditory functions all of the time as they increase some sounds while filtering out others and that can result in a tinny or fuzzy sound. So if your settings aren’t properly tweaked, the sound quality might seem unreliable.
Solution: There are two possible solutions to this issue: calibration and upkeep. It could be that your hearing aids are broken in some way or another and need to be repaired. But it’s also possible that they basically need a simple calibration (generally this is something your hearing specialist can do for you).
When I Wear my Hearing Aid Voices Seem Muffled
When you listen to people talk, you want to be capable of hearing them with clarity. That’s the whole reason you purchased hearing aids in the first place! You needed to be sure you didn’t miss any relevant discussions. So if all the voices you hear are hard to understand and sound muffled it may be a bit annoying.
Because your ears and brain aren’t communicating effectively anymore, this issue commonly occurs when you first get your hearing aids.
The Remedy: Keep practicing. Your brain is going to have to become accustomed to hearing language again, 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 positive practice is by simply having discussions with people you come in contact with.
Finding Answers
The point is regardless of what your reason for not using your hearing aids might, there’s an answer somewhere. And you need to use your hearing aid routinely in order to safeguard your cognitive health and the well being of your hearing.
So if your hearing aids aren’t be working perfectly for you? Determine the issue and come up with a solution, so you can make your hearing aids, and everything that they help you hear, part of your everyday life. If you think your hearing aids need adjustment, consult your hearing care expert as soon as possible.