Living with hearing aids

Today's hearing aids have transformed into intuitive extensions of an individual, which act more like a limb of the body than an external device. With extended connectivity to everyday appliances, such as alarm clocks and doorbells, as well as to phones and TV, modern hearing aids make living feel more comfortable than ever before. Find out what you can expect as you adjust to wearing hearing aids in your everyday life. 

If your hearing loss has reached the point that hearing aids are an option for you, it’s important that you have a good understanding of their capabilities. Hearing aids, regardless of style or technology, can never replace normal hearing in all listening environments. Expecting unrealistic results when wearing hearing aids will only lead to frustration and dissatisfaction.

Here are some guidelines that will help set these expectations and allow you to be free to enjoy the benefits that hearing aids can bring to your life.

• The extent to which your hearing loss can be helped through amplification is based on the type and severity of your hearing loss. This will be determined during your hearing exam.
• The more severe your hearing loss is, the more advanced and powerful the hearing aid must be to help your hearing.

• In quiet environments, hearing aid users can often achieve a performance level close or equal to normal hearing. As the listening environment becomes more complex, the gap between a person with normal hearing and a person with hearing loss widens.
• Noisy social settings, like restaurants, are difficult for even those with normal hearing. As hearing loss progresses, it becomes more difficult for hearing aids to assist in these types of situations.
• Hearing aids should prevent normally loud sounds from becoming too loud and uncomfortable.
• Depending on the degree and type of hearing loss, hearing aids may improve your ability to understand speech more clearly in noisy situations.

• If your hearing aids are programmed properly, you should be able to hear every-day sounds that you may not have realized you were missing, like rain on the window or your dog’s nails clicking on the floor when they walk.
• You’ll need time to get used to your new hearing aids and learn how to achieve optimal performance with them. You should expect to see your hearing care specialist a few times after your initial appointment to tweak the programming and get it just right.

At Miracle-Ear, we have the same goal as you: hearing better days. Your hearing goals are important to us and we’re with you every step of the way as you adjust to wearing your hearing aids. Discover how hearing aids can help you live independently.

Investing in hearing aids is an amazing and commendable step towards taking charge of your hearing health care. However, it shouldn't stop there. There are so many things you can do to get the most out of your new hearing devices, including properly caring for them and seeing your hearing care professional for routine checkups. Also, it may seem obvious, but make sure you're actually wearing your hearing aids for all of your favorite activities! Follow our hearing aid maintenance checklist for even more tips.