Obtaining hearing aids can be an exciting time. Congratulations, you just took proactive steps towards rectifying your hearing loss. Now it is time to take a step back and slowly relearn your way back into the hearing world. Keeping a positive attitude can help you obtain a smooth transition and ease your adjustment process.
You might be tempted to keep wearing your hearing devices now that you have them. However, this is not recommended initially since your brain needs time to adapt to this renewed degree of hearing. Many of the sounds you now hear may be foreign to your brain since it has been so used to not hearing them for so long. Wearing your hearing aids continuously can be overwhelming for your brain as it tries to process this increased information input.
Take it slow and gradually start wearing your hearing aids for a few hours each day during the first few days. You can start wearing them initially in quieter environments with few sounds, so that you do not feel overwhelmed or confused. As you begin to relearn the sounds and tune out background noise, you can slowly start wearing your hearing aids for longer amounts of time and in more active, louder environments.
It can take between the first three weeks to a month before you can gradually increase the time spent wearing your hearing aids to a more continuous level. You can start by taking short trips and running errands to louder environments so that you grow accustomed to multiple hearing settings and prevent being overwhelmed.
Due to changes in modern technology, some hearing aids automatically increase your level of sound amplification at a more gradual pace. This process is an in-built feature to help you grow accustomed to wearing your hearing aids. Ask your hearing health professional whether you can begin wearing your hearing devices for longer stretches of time, especially during daytime.
Your decision to obtain hearing aids was an excellent one. Now all your need to do is take things slow and let your hearing aids do the rest of the work for you so that you can enjoy your renewed sense of hearing.