Living With Hearing Aids

HEALTH · GLOBAL

Living With Hearing Aids

The adjustment period, daily care, batteries and getting the most from them

Getting hearing aids is the start rather than the end, and the people who benefit most are the ones who work through the first few weeks rather than putting them in a drawer.

The adjustment period

Everyday sounds will seem loud and your own voice will sound strange. That is the brain re-learning to process sounds it has not heard properly for years, and it settles over several weeks.

Wear them consistently rather than only in difficult situations, since the brain needs regular input to adapt. Part-time use is the main reason people conclude they do not work.

Build up gradually

Start in quiet places and short sessions, then add busier environments. A restaurant on day one is the hardest possible test.

Go back to the audiologist for adjustments rather than tolerating a setting that is wrong. Several fine-tuning appointments are normal.

Daily care

Wipe them each evening with a dry cloth, check and clear the wax filters, and leave the battery door open overnight to let moisture escape. A drying box helps in humid conditions.

Moisture and earwax cause the overwhelming majority of faults. Take them out before showering, swimming and using hairspray.

Batteries and charging

Disposable zinc-air batteries activate when the sticker is removed and need a minute before insertion. Rechargeable aids remove that entirely and need a charger with them when travelling.

Keep batteries well away from children and pets, since swallowing one is a medical emergency.

Accessories worth having

A streamer or direct phone connection, a remote microphone for meetings and restaurants, and a loop system where venues offer one — look for the T setting.

At work and in public

Ask for a seat away from noise and with your back to a wall, which reduces competing sound. In meetings, a remote microphone placed near the speaker does more than any adjustment to the aids.

Many venues have hearing loops, which the aids pick up through the T setting. Ask whether one is switched on, since they are frequently installed and unused.

Replacing them

Hearing aids typically last around five years, and hearing changes over that time. Have your hearing retested every couple of years rather than waiting for the aids themselves to fail.

Protecting the hearing you still have

Noise damage is cumulative and permanent. Use hearing protection with power tools, at concerts and on noisy sites, and keep headphone volume moderate. If your ears ring afterwards, it was too loud.

Help others help you

Ask people to face you and not to call from another room. Hearing aids improve hearing rather than restoring it.

WHERE TO BUY

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