Listen to your provider (and we’ll listen to you!)
We know, we know — this one seems a little self-serving, right? But it’s true! Studies show that people who have a close, collaborative relationship with their hearing care provider have a more successful experience with their technology and their overall hearing health.
You see, when we’re able to have open, frank discussions about what you’re experiencing in regard to your hearing, as well as in regard to your hearing wellness goals, we can apply better testing methodologies and make better recommendations for treatment. The similar is true when it comes to after you’ve been fit with technology.
The clearer our communication and understanding of your experience, the better we can make those fine-tuning adjustments that can take your hearing care experience from good to great. We see this process as a partnership, and we’ll work hard to earn your trust and help you achieve your goals.
Be patient with your new technology
Here’s something that too many hearing care professionals won’t tell you: It takes a little bit of time to adjust to your hearing aids. It’s not that you’ll put them on and they won’t work right away; in fact, they might work too well.
What do we mean by this? Well, in many cases, a person’s hearing loss is gradual. Many folks wait a period of five to seven years after they suspect they have a hearing loss before taking any action on it.
Once they do seek treatment, if they’re eligible for and properly fit with hearing aid technology, then they’ll suddenly begin to hear many of the frequencies they’ve been long missing. This means your brain has to adjust to the additional sounds it needs to process. For some, they’d rather go back to missing those sounds instead of following through on the short rediscovery period. We highly encourage anyone who is new to wearing hearing aids to be patient, wear their hearing aids regularly, and to not throw them in a drawer where they’re definitely not going to help anyone.
Keep your device adjustments to a minimum
Remember, you’re going through a period of transition and sound rediscovery. Your hearing care provider has used the information from your audiogram and other critical tests in order to program your hearing aids as precisely as possible to match the frequencies that you’re missing.
Today’s digital hearing aids, which have made incredible advancements since they were first fit on patients in the mid-90s, are more flexible and compatible than ever. This also means that, through the use of smartphone apps and other technology interfaces, that they’re more adjustable by the wearer than ever before.
This, of course, is a good thing. However, we do recommend that you resist the temptation to make adjustments to your provider’s work until you’ve fully transitioned to wearing your technology. This is a crucial period of time where your provider can make precision, fine-tune modifications to your device’s programming, which will in turn lead to a better hearing care experience for you.
Take advantage of the available accessories
As we mentioned, today’s hearing devices are more flexible and compatible than ever before. Many devices can be paired with smartphone apps in order to do things like create specific listening experiences in different environments. For instance, you can use your phone’s location settings so that your hearing aids “remember” that they should adjust automatically when you enter your favorite coffee shop, restaurant, or wherever you want those unique settings to be triggered.
Additionally, most new hearing aids are Bluetooth-compatible, meaning that you can pair your hearing with smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs, and more in order to stream sound directly to your hearing technology. Long gone are the days when you and your loved ones have to debate the appropriate TV volume! You get your own personalized sound experience that you can completely control. You can even take phone or video calls and stream the audio directly to your hearing aids. Clear, crisp audio, making those calls with loved ones all the more enjoyable.
Don’t forget the importance of power
Whether you wear rechargeable hearing aids or hearing aids that use disposable batteries, powering them is critical to your experience. When you’re being fit with your devices, your provider should walk you through the steps in putting on and taking off your hearing aids, how to keep them clean, and how to best keep them charged. All of this is based on you forming new habits.
If your aids use disposable batteries, make sure that you have an extra pack or two on you in the instance that your batteries die. If you’re wearing rechargeable hearing aids, get into the habit of charging them at night while you sleep. We don’t want you to get stuck in situations where your hearing is being hindered and causing you a less than exceptional experience.
Trust us, it might happen. But you might be soon reminded of how far you’ve come in this journey of rediscovering your hearing — and you should be proud of every step you’ve taken!
Interested in learning more about hearing aids? Already wear them, but think it might be time for an upgrade? Contact Colorado Ear Care today for an evolutionary hearing care experience!