Using and Maintaining Hearing Aids

Your very first adjustment period when wearing hearing aids is a very crucial time. Here are some of the things that you need to know to be able to fully benefit from your hearing aid. Maximize what your modern hearing equipment has to provide.

A very typical point why people are rejecting the use of hearing aids is either no information or misinformation provided when the wearer has them. When this happens, you should possess motivation and confidence so that you would know what problems to encounter and how to combat them in the process as you immerse yourself in demanding environments.

Using Hearing Aids
Do not push yourself and try to take it slowly but surely. The first thing you need to do is to wear the hearing device intermittently every other hour. This will let you adjust to your new hearing aid. Discomfort will not be a major problem but you will surely feel awkward in your ear during the first day. After doing this, slowly lengthen the time that you spend wearing it that not wearing it so that you could quickly become at ease with the device. Like how you would welcome glasses or jewellery, hearing aids are also something to get used to.

Where to Listen

The first place that you need to go to practice hearing with the device is basically your home, since it is the most favoured place for anyone. Expect to hear sounds differently when you start wearing your hearing aid. Familiar sounds at home, such as pouring water, sound of footsteps, or rustling things will be much louder. This is one of the things that you also have to get used to when you are using hearing aids.

The next thing you would have to do is to quietly converse with another person. By doing this you are letting your brain process the speech sounds that you receive. You may observe that your voice will be a little bit louder than usual but you should soon get used to it. If, however, after 4 weeks, you are still continuing to experience this, immediately ask the opinion of your hearing aid audiologist so that he or she could modify the sound levels and make your hearing better. The hearing aid will not give you supersonic hearing, but it will try to bring back your normal hearing. With this said, you will most likely not hear the person who is talking softly far away from you. Things will be difficult if a person without any hearing dysfunction would find the circumstance too demanding. Listening will help.  Practice to gate keep the sounds that you are receiving and choose the sounds that are significant to you than those which are just plain noise. You will get better at doing this after a while.

Another thing you need to try is watching the television. Beware however, because you might find yourself rushing to get the volume down once you turn it on. If you are living with someone, try to get the volume of the television in a level where you could both comfortably hear the appliance.

Using the Telephone
There are many available strategies on how to cope with using a telephone for hearing aid wearers. Some people may not find it difficult at all, like those who suffered high frequency hearing loss, but some also struggle to do this. Usually, it is your audiologist who will inform you about the numerous strategies you could employ. Oticon hearing aids, Phonak hearing aids and Resound hearing aids all have different methods on how to use the telephone. Some apply temporary amplification drops to avoid that sharp noise. Some use an equipment that connects the sound straight to your hearing aid.

Coping With Noise
After a period of using the hearing aids, you might have the courage to level up and try listening in a noisy environment. Remember,  the amount of sound that you would hear is significantly related to whether you are using one or two hearing aids. Wearing the equipment in both ears would elicit louder sounds.
Also, just persevere and have patience in exposing yourself in noisy situations because you would surely improve through time.  Only 65 % of the total speech in a noisy environment is received by the ear. This is according to a study made way back 1970. A hearing aid will at least let you hear nearer to that percentage,  given the right advice form professionals.

TIPS – How to maintain and use your hearing aid correctly

The battery door needs to be opened when you are removing the hearing aid from your ear. This is to conserve the battery life and also to prevent moisture from gathering.

Clean your device every day by using soft cloth or other things given by the audiologist for this purpose.

Sit in anti-breakage spots such as soft sofas or carpets so that when you accidentally drop your hearing aid, it would not easily be harmed.

Hold the device properly before putting it in your ear. If you do it the wrong way, you will get a hard time inserting the hearing apparatus.

Remove the battery label when you change batteries, and then let them lie for about two minutes in open air. Oxygen is important so that hearing aids could function properly, so make time for your batteries to sip a little bit of air.


Enjoy a new vista for hearing without feedback or noise by properly caring for your hearing aids. The way you take care of it will make or break your experience.