It’s important to take care of your hearing health. Even if you’ve been diagnosed with hearing loss, you want to ensure that it doesn’t deteriorate over time unnecessarily and one of the best ways to do that is with the help of a hearing aid. Living life with a hearing aid device can be a little new and maybe even confusing, but here are some tips to help you ensure you get the best out of them.
Give them some time
Don’t worry if you’re not able to wear your hearing aids all day, every day to begin with. That’s not the case for most people who wear them nor is it recommended by hearing health experts. Instead, you should get acclimated to them over time. Typically, you want to wear them for a couple of hours each day, and only in quieter environments such as inside your own home at first. As you get used to the difference they make in your hearing, you can start wearing them for longer and try wearing them in environments with more noise, until you’re able to wear them all day.
Learn what care to give to them
Hearing aids are made of some pretty delicate technology and, over time, they can experience wear and tear, especially if you don’t give them the care that they need. Mostly, this is going to mean that you ensure you clean them each and every day. Your hearing aid should come with one, but you can find a cleaning kit at most larger healthcare stores or order them online. Otherwise, you want to make sure that you keep them out of wet or humid environments, like the bathroom, and store them (with the batteries taken out) in a dehumidifying case.
Know the signs of something going wrong
Because wearing them can be a new experience, a lot of people don’t recognize when there are issues that they should be taking a closer look at and might assume that they are simply quirks of the technology or something that will go with time. Feedback, loss of amplification, and changes to how your hearing aid sounds are all signs that you need some common hearing aid repairs. Make sure you have your audiologist on call to help you make any repairs you might need.
Connect it to your other devices
If you’re quite competent and confident with using digital technology like new smartphone apps and the like, then you should consider getting a hearing aid app that allows you to connect your phone to your digital devices. You can get audio signals directly from your phone, as well as things like smart TVs, as well as get access to easy controls that allow you to program and adjust them at will.
The quality of life improvements that can come as a result of a hearing aid is nothing something you should underestimate. Take note of the tips above and make sure to ask your audiologist if you’re uncertain of anything to experience the full benefits.
