What to Expect from Your Hearing Aids

Hearing aids have come a long way from the ear trumpet used hundreds of years ago, and have improved infinitely from the large devices from the 1960s and 1970s. Modern hearing aids come with an abundance of sophisticated features. If you are looking to upgrade your hearing aid, or you are on the way to getting a hearing condition diagnosed or receive treatment, there is no need to feel overwhelmed by the prospect of a hearing aid. Nor should you think that it will limit your life. What can you expect from your hearing aid, and how can it help your life?

After the assessment

Once you have been to a hearing instrument specialist and they've been able to find out the exact issues, they may recommend a hearing aid. Hearing aids can be quite an investment, and if you have hearing loss in both ears, you may have to purchase two devices. It's important to note that if you feel you shouldn't buy two devices, because hearing is what is known as "binaural" (literally, relating to or involving both ears), by wearing two hearing aids, you will get the best results. This is because the brain receives information from both ears. The HIS will recommend the appropriate hearing aid for your level of hearing, but you need to think about your lifestyle and what type of hearing aid will benefit you. You want it to work with you, not against you. This means that you have to prepare beforehand, and get a good idea of what your lifestyle entails on a regular basis. For example, are you very active? Or do you watch a lot of television? These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself so you can present your case to the HIS as completely as possible.

Your new hearing aid

When you first start wearing your hearing aid, there can be a period of adjustment, especially when you think that someone with hearing loss takes between five and seven years to get a device. During the trial period of your new device, you will expect to return to your healthcare professional several times. As modern hearing aids can be fine-tuned to your individual needs, you might find that more things sound strange. You may also pick up noises that you haven't heard for a long time. You might even find your own voice sounds strange. Because hearing aids work by amplifying sounds this can result in your voice seeming different. This is known as the occlusion effect, but you will soon adjust to it.

What to remember

It's important to realize that hearing aids are a tool to help you hear well. Even though your hearing has deteriorated, it's not a replacement for ears that function at 100 percent. While there are some fantastic developments in hearing aids, especially with Bluetooth capabilities that can connect to your smartphone. You can have a more convenient experience with sound thanks to Bluetooth, as devices are more in-ear, but you can't expect to hear every word all the time. We need to remember that even the best ears in the world can't hear everything. In addition to this, you need to get used to wearing the device. You should never experience any uncomfortable sensations, like pain or soreness. And if you experience any normal sounds to be painful, such as a door slamming, it's important to go back to your health care professional to see if this can be fixed.

What you can do for your hearing aid

Much like a pair of glasses, minor maintenance is always beneficial. Depending on the style of hearing aid you have, it may benefit from a daily clean, especially to remove wax. Every hearing aid comes with a cleaning kit, but if you have any issues regularly, or need to make any alterations, you should take it into your health care professional for an examination.

Hearing aids are an excellent tool to improve your quality of life and quality of hearing. Like anything new, there can be a period of adjustment before you get used to it. But with modern hearing aids, they work to make your hearing experience more personal. And the future of hearing aid technology highlights how it will work with the internet and become another variation of "smart device." If you want to learn more about hearing aids, you can contact Affordable Hearing at one of the following locations to learn more about what a hearing aid can do, not just for your hearing, but for your life.

• Irmo: (803) 749-6017
• Orangeburg and Santee: (803) 531-6403