For many individuals who are experiencing hearing loss, getting a set of hearing aids can be a daunting prospect – and often ends up being something that gets put off for much longer than it should.
Once you’ve finally bought a set of hearing, you have taken the first step in significantly improving your quality of life and your sense of wellbeing. But it is still important to be mindful of some of the potential pitfalls that you might run up against as a new hearing aid owner.
Here are four of the most common mistakes made by new hearing aid owners.
Wearing Your Hearing Aids Immediately Without Exploring the Settings and Features
It’s quite natural that, right after getting your new hearing aids, you’ll want to put them in immediately and experience the way they enhance your perception of the world. Nonetheless, your hearing aids will likely have all sorts of powerful and useful settings, ranging from things like Bluetooth integration to noise filters, that you won’t necessarily be aware of upfront.
You may also need to fine-tune the settings for the best user experience. Taking some time to explore your hearing aids functions, and to read the supporting documentation before putting them in, is a very good idea.
Not Giving Your Ears Time to Adjust
It’s well known that the eyes need time to adjust to a new pair of glasses, and the same is certainly true for your ears and hearing aids. Some individuals become frustrated at not immediately experiencing the hearing quality they are after, after getting a pair of hearing aids. But it’s important to realize that there is an adaptation period that must be accounted for.
Putting your hearing aids in, and keeping them in as consistently as possible will help significantly with adaptation.
As you wear your hearing aids more and adapt to them over time, you will also be better able to identify potential sources of discomfort. You may find that you need to adjust the volume slightly, or sit somewhere quiet for a while after first putting them in.
Perhaps the worst mistake you can make as a new hearing aid owner is to allow yourself to become disheartened and to simply put your hearing into a draw where they end up becoming neglected and doing no good.
Not Getting a New Hearing Aid Properly Fitted, or Not Consulting Properly with Your Audiologist
Getting the right hearing aids for your needs is an involved process, and there are plenty of steps you should take upfront instead of just going out and buying yourself a pair of hearing aids without gathering the proper information.
First things first: consulting with a trained audiologist is very important when it comes to ensuring that you have the right hearing aids for your needs, as is being honest and forthright with your audiologist during your consultation.
There are a variety of different types of hearing aids out there, with some being specially designed to amplify certain sound frequencies, while others emphasize different frequencies. There are also specific use cases where additional features like Bluetooth integration can be very useful – such as if you use your phone a lot.
Make sure to consult with an audiologist and to get your hearing aids professionally fitted.
Not Properly Maintaining Your Hearing Aids
Hearing aids are delicate instruments that require regular maintenance in order to ensure that they perform as well as you want them to, in addition to remaining comfortable and suitable for everyday use.
One area where hearing aid owners sometimes get into trouble is with regards to hearing aid maintenance. New hearing aid owners might not be properly mindful of the importance of hearing aid maintenance and might not even be clear on where to start – whereas experienced hearing aid owners might apply outdated maintenance procedures that don’t apply to their new set of hearing aids.
Among other things, you should carefully inspect the warnings and instructions listed in your hearing aid user manual, such as with regards to things like keeping your hearing aids in when applying hair products or leaving the hearing aids turned on after taking them out.
Of course, properly cleaning your hearing aids is a major part of good maintenance – and it’s actually important to ensure that you are cleaning your ears in the right manner as well. By ensuring that you are maintaining your hearing aids to the highest standard, you can keep them functioning optimally and can avoid unwelcome issues from developing.
To learn more about Albuquerque Hearing and your hearing aids call us today at (505) 750-9569.