Using your Hearing Aid - A guide to Hearing Loss

It can take a little time to get used to your hearing aid but once you have done so you will find that it makes a positive impact on your life. There is a myth that wearing a hearing aid can worsen your hearing but this is untrue. What it can’t do is to restore your hearing to its previous state.

What you will find is that your voice will sound strange at first and the sounds that you hear will take a bit of getting used to.

Your hearing specialist will advise you on how to use this so that you start as you mean to go on. This includes building up the number of hours you wear your hearing aid so that you gradually become accustomed to it. Try wearing it in different rooms and eventually, different environments.

And most importantly, don’t forget to switch your hearing aid off when you take it out of your ear!

Here are a few tips for using your hearing aid:

  • Start with a conversation with one person
  • Try a conversation with several people
  • Listen to everyday sounds
  • Wear your hearing aid outside the house
  • Wear your hearing aid in a public place, such as a restaurant

Don’t wear your hearing aid all day until you have got used to it. If you try too much too soon then the ear mould will irritate your ear and make it sore. Other advice includes:

  • Don’t try your hearing aid in a ‘challenging’situation until you are confident at using it.
  • Practise using it until you are familiar with removing it and putting it back in your ear as well as using the controls.
  • If your hearing aid amplifies sounds to the extent that they are uncomfortable then there is a problem with it. Speak to your dispenser or hearing specialist.
  • You will find that your hearing is muffled when you take your hearing aid out. This is completely normal and is a sign that you have become used to better hearing when wearing your aid.
  • If you have two hearing aids then these will be colour coded so that you know what aid goes in which ear. If they are colour coded then the colour ‘red’ is always for the right ear and the colour ‘blue’ is always the right ear.

As regards the controls, these are usually ‘M’for microphone, ‘O’for off and a ‘T-setting’ for the telecoil.

Many hearing aids have a volume control, such as a small lever which is pushed upwards to increase the volume and downwards to lower it. Other hearing aids do this automatically.

Your hearing aid may have a range of settings for different environments, for example, a setting for a noisy place such as a pub or restaurant. The idea is that you select the setting which is appropriate to the environment you are in.

So if you are at home and want to listen to music then you can change the settings to adapt to this. Your hearing specialist will have explained how to do this beforehand. He or she will also show you how to get the right balance of sound if you require two hearing aids.

Treatments : A guide to Hearing Loss

Hearing Loss

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