Once you decide to get hearing aids, you might not have any worries or concerns about them… until you actually get them. Then you might find it awkward, or you find it difficult to adjust. Here are some tips on making the transition smoother.
First, it’s normal to feel awkward at first. If you’ve ever gotten glasses before, that’s a good comparison. Whether you have or not, the world can look odd when you first try them on. After a while, though, it becomes normal. That’s what should happen when you get hearing aids.
So when you start wearing them, try to wear them regularly. They won’t work for you if you don’t wear them, after all. It’s okay to ease into using them, but try to use them as much as possible.
And while you’re easing into using them, it’s okay to start slowly in a quiet room. Try getting used to hearing things you weren’t able to hear before. After that, you might want to move on to talking with people, or you might want to try watching television. Don’t shy away from using closed captioning, because that helps your ears associate sounds with words again. A news program is a good start because usually, only one person is speaking at a time. Also, news anchors make sure to speak clearly.
If you then want to move on to talking in person, go ahead. Start with friends and family–people whose voices are familiar to you. Make sure to face them and actually listen. Just because you’ve got hearing aids now doesn’t mean that you should stop actively listening.
Once you’ve got the hang of conversation in person, you can move on to speaking on the phone or to interacting in noisier environments. You may have to experiment with the phone to find the best position. Try to angle the phone speaker over your hearing aid’s microphone. It may take some time, but you can do it. And before you know it, wearing hearing aids will become your new normal.
