Ever ask yourself “what would it truly be like to wear hearing aids”? What would your good friend say if you asked candid questions about what it sounds like, what it feels like, and how they really feel about using one? If you really want to know what hearing aids are like, you should come in for a demonstration, but for now, continue reading for a summary of what you can expect.
1. Occasionally You Get Feedback
This isn’t the type of feedback that you get when someone tells you how what they think about your results. When a microphone and a speaker pick up each other’s signal, they interfere with each other resulting in a high-pitched whistling sound. It causes a sound loop that even advanced speakers like the ones in hearing aids don’t know what to do with.
We’ve all heard this type of feedback just before someone begins speaking into a microphone.
While this might sound terrible, and it is uncomfortable, it is rare when a hearing aid is correctly tuned. If you’re encountering it, the earmold may not be properly fitted or you need to replace it.
Feedback can be eliminated, in some more sophisticated hearing aids, by a built-in feedback cancellation system.
2. You Can Follow Conversations in a Noisy Restaurant
Eating dinner out with the family can feel like eating dinner alone if you have neglected hearing loss. It’s almost impossible to follow the conversations. Most of the night, you might find yourself just nodding and smiling.
But hearing aids nowadays have some pretty sophisticated technology that can cancel out background noise. The voices of your family and the restaurant staff become crystal clear.
3. It Gets a Little Sticky Sometimes
Your body has a way of telling you when something doesn’t belong. Your body will produce saliva if you eat something too spicy. If you get an eyelash in your eye, you produce tears to flush your eye. Your ears have their own way of getting rid of a nuisance.
They make extra wax.
Because of this, earwax accumulation can sometimes be an issue for people who wear hearing aids. Thankfully, it’s only wax and it’s not a problem to clean the hearing aids. (We’ll teach you how.)
Once you’re done the cleaning you’re quickly back to good hearing.
4. Your Brain Will Also Get The Benefit
You might be surprised by this one. If somebody starts to develop hearing loss it will gradually impact brain function as it progresses.
One of the first things you lose is the ability to understand the spoken language. Then memory, learning new things, and solving problems become challenging.
Getting hearing aids as soon as possible helps slow this brain atrophy. They re-train your brain. They can decrease and even reverse mental decline according to many studies. In fact, 80% of individuals had improved brain function, according to a study conducted by the AARP, after wearing hearing aids to manage their hearing loss.
5. You Need to Replace The Batteries
Those tiny button batteries can be a bit challenging to deal with. And they seem to run out of juice at the worst times, like when you’re about to find out “whodunnit” in a mystery movie, or just as your friend is telling you the juicy particulars of a story.
But most of the perceived challenges with these batteries can be quickly solved. You can greatly extend battery life by using the correct methods. The batteries are small and inexpensive, so it’s easy to carry an extra set in your wallet.
Or, nowadays you can buy hearing aids that are rechargeable. Just dock it on the charger at night. In the morning, simply put them back on. You can even get some hearing aids with solar-powered chargers so you can charge them even if you are camping or hiking.
6. There’s a Learning Curve
The technology of modern-day hearing aids is quite sophisticated. It’s a lot simpler than learning to use a computer for the first time. But it definitely takes a little time for your brain to get used to new hearing aids and to get the configurations right.
It progressively gets better as you keep wearing your hearing aids. Try to be patient with yourself and your hearing aids throughout this transition.
Individuals 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 really like to use hearing aids. If you want to find out, contact us.
References
https://www.aarp.org/health/brain-health/info-07-2013/hearing-loss-linked-to-dementia.html