It’s a common question if you’re new to wearing hearing aids. The answer depends on the severity of your hearing loss, how long you’ve lived with it and the type of hearing aid you wear.
Some hearing professionals estimate a 30- to 45-day adjustment period. However, fully acclimating to your devices can take several months.
Why Does It Take Time to Adjust to Hearing Aids?
While your ears collect and convert sounds from vibrations to electrical signals, hearing takes place in the auditory cortex of your brain. Hearing loss deprives your brain of that stimulation, affecting its ability to interpret the limited audio it receives. Your brain will begin to rewire itself to allocate that energy to other areas.
Wearing hearing aids can be a shock to your brain’s system. You’re hearing sounds and noises you’ve been missing, and your brain requires time to reacquaint itself with processing them.
What to Expect When Adjusting to Hearing Aids
Wearing hearing aids for the first time is different for everyone. The physical and auditory sensations vary based on your type of hearing loss, ear shape and the size of your device.
Here are the potential side effects of wearing new hearing aids:
Normal:
- Sounds appear louder, including background noises like a clock ticking or a fridge humming.
- Your voice seems louder or slightly distorted.
- You feel slight discomfort or are aware of the sensation of the devices in your ears.
- You hear feedback or whistling.
Not normal:
- You experience pain while wearing your devices.
- You get persistent headaches.
- You have a rash or develop itching around your ears.
- You develop dizziness.
Tips for Adjusting to New Hearing Aids
Wear Them at Home First
It’s important to reintroduce your ears to sounds slowly. Wearing your new hearing aids for the first time at a restaurant or store could leave you feeling overwhelmed. Put in your devices, sit in a quiet environment and try to identify the location of background sounds. You can also practice listening to one-on-one conversations at home without contending with public auditory distractions.
Wear Them Often
You should wear your hearing aids daily during waking hours. The more consistent you are, the sooner you’ll get accustomed to listening with your devices. You’ll also give your brain the chance to relearn how to filter background sounds when you’re listening to conversations, music and TV audio.
Wearing your hearing aids frequently also allows you to get used to modifying your devices in different listening environments. You’ll learn which settings need to be altered to optimize your hearing wherever you go.
Be Realistic
Putting in hearing aids won’t immediately correct hearing loss like glasses do for your eyesight. You’re no longer hearing with just your ears and your brain, so sound quality may seem different for a time. It’s important to set realistic expectations when wearing hearing devices to reduce the chance of frustration.
Be Patient and Practice
Hearing loss can sneak up on you over time, so it may take longer than you expect to get reacquainted with sounds again. Getting used to your devices isn’t an overnight process and takes practice. Be patient with yourself as your ears and brain work together again.
Hearing Aids in Northern Iowa and Southern Minnesota
Seeking treatment is a step in the right direction on your journey toward better hearing. The expert team at Hearing Associates is committed to finding the perfect hearing aids to suit your needs. Call 888-760-2032 or schedule your appointment online.