Ever ask yourself “what would it actually be like to wear hearing aids”? How does a hearing aid feel when you have one on, what is the sound like, and what does it feel like in your ears are all questions you may want to ask someone who already has hearing aids? If you really want to know what hearing aids are like, you should come in for a demo, but for now, keep reading for an explanation of what you can expect.
1. Hearing Aids Occasionally Get Feedback
This isn’t the type of feedback that you get when someone tells you how they feel about your performance. When a microphone and a speaker pick up each other’s signal, they interfere with each other resulting in a high-pitched screeching sound. It creates a sound loop that even advanced speakers like the ones in hearing aids don’t know how to handle.
We’ve all heard this kind of feedback right before someone starts speaking into a microphone.
Though this can be uncomfortable, when hearing aids are properly tuned, it’s rare. If you’re encountering it, the earmold may not be correctly fitted or you need to replace it.
Feedback can be removed, in some more advanced hearing aids, by a built-in feedback suppression system.
2. You Can Follow Conversations in a Noisy Restaurant
If you suffer from untreated hearing loss, having dinner with your family or friends in a loud restaurant can feel like you’re eating alone. Conversations are virtually impossible to follow. Most of the night, you may end up just nodding and smiling.
But modern hearing aids have the advanced noise blocking capability for background sound. They bring the voices of your children and the servers into crystal clearness.
3. It Gets a Little Sticky at Times
Your body has a way of letting you know when something doesn’t belong. If you eat something too spicy hot, you secrete more saliva to wash it out. If you get something in your eye, you generate tears to flush your eye. Your ears also possess a defense system of their own.
They produce extra wax.
Due to this, earwax buildup can occasionally be an issue for individuals who use hearing aids. It’s only wax, thankfully, so cleaning it isn’t a problem. (We can help you learn how.)
Then you’ll just put that hearing aid back in and begin relishing your hearing again.
4. Your Brain Will Also Get The Benefit
You might be surprised by this one. When a person has hearing loss, it very gradually starts to impact brain function if they don’t have it treated as soon as possible.
Accurately understanding spoken language is one of the first things to go. Problem solving, learning new things, and memory will then become challenging.
This brain atrophy can be slowed by wearing hearing aids sooner than later. They re-train your brain. They can slow and even reverse mental decline according to many studies. In fact, 80% of individuals had increased mental function, according to a study conducted by the AARP, after using hearing aids to manage their hearing loss.
5. The Batteries Need to be Replaced
Those tiny button batteries can be a bit challenging to manage. And these batteries seem to choose the worst time to lose power, like when you’re expecting a call from your doctor.
But many of the perceived challenges with these batteries can be easily solved. You can substantially increase battery life by using the correct strategies. The batteries are small and inexpensive, so it’s easy to carry an extra set in your wallet.
Or, you can purchase a pair of rechargeable hearing aids which are available now. Just dock it on the charger at night. Put it back on in the morning. There are also solar-powered hearing aid docks so you can even recharge your hearing aid when you’re fishing. camping, or hiking.
6. There’s a Learning Curve
Nowadays, hearing aids have advanced technology. It’s not as hard as learning to use a new computer. But it certainly takes a little time for your brain to adjust to new hearing aids and to get the configurations right.
The longer and more regularly you use hearing aids the better it gets. Throughout this adjustment period, try to be patient with yourself and your new hearing aids.
People who have stayed the course and worn their hearing aids for six months or more usually will say it’s all worth it.
This is what it’s actually like to wear hearing aids. If you want to figure it out, give us a call.
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References
https://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-07-2013/hearing-loss-linked-to-dementia.html