Will wearing hearing aids immediately improve my hearing?

You’ve made the decision to go ahead and treat your hearing loss with hearing aids… It’s understandable that you’d expect the improvement in your hearing to be instantaneous. BUT is that the case? Let’s find out!

It’s time to be patient!

We live in a fast-paced society and are used to getting things quickly; we can order something online and have it delivered the very same day! With hearing aids, we need to be a little more patient. Please don’t misunderstand us, absolutely you will all of a sudden be able to hear sounds and frequencies that were a struggle before when wearing hearing aids. However, this does not mean that your hearing loss is treated the same day you have your hearing aids fitted.

A Phonak Lumity hearing aid

The role your brain plays in your hearing

We’ve discussed before that the brain plays a big role in our hearing. Your brain processes the sound that your ears hear and makes sense of it for you. When you begin to wear hearing aids, your ears will immediately be able to hear more sounds but it may take a bit longer for your brain to catch up.

This is why we offer as many follow up appointments as it takes for you to get used to your new hearing aids. If you are a new hearing aid user, we can set the aids to run at less than 100% and work up to their full potential over a specific time period. This can help your brain get used to all of the new sounds it needs to process and perhaps hasn’t had to process for a while.

Should I book a hearing consultation?

You can now see why we suggest treating a hearing loss as early as possible! If you’re experiencing any of the below, you should consider booking yourself in for a hearing test:

• Asking people to repeat themselves often
• Finding group conversations difficult to follow
• Having difficulty understanding people on the phone
• People commenting on how loud the TV or radio is
• Struggling with conversations when there is a high level of background noise, particularly in cafes or restaurants
• Feeling like people are always mumbling when they’re talking to you
• Finding it tricky to establish the direction a sound is coming from
• Avoiding social situations because you are worried you won’t keep up with the conversation
• People in your life, especially those closest to you, have suggested you have a hearing loss

A hearing consultation with one of our Audiologists

Maintaining your hearing aids

Once you’ve received your new hearing aids, you will be shown how to care for and maintain them. It’s so important that you look after them to ensure they are performing at their full potential for you. If they are not cleaned regularly, they may become clogged with wax or debris which means they will not work as well for you.

If you think you may need a hearing test, or would like some advice on your hearing aids, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.