Tim Gaule
I am a member of the SaddleBrooke Hearing Discussion Group. Hearing aids and cochlear implants are beneficial if you are hearing-impaired. But unlike eyeglasses, hearing aids or cochlear implants don’t restore your hearing to normal.
Prescription eyeglasses can bring your vision back to 20/20. I have found that once I have an updated prescription for eyeglasses or contacts, my vision is back to “normal” as soon as I start wearing the ones with the new prescription. Even with the many advances in hearing aid technology during the past several years, hearing aids or cochlear implants can’t restore your hearing to normal.
Hearing aids usually require an adjustment period. One of the issues with new hearing aids is that they amplify all sounds, including background noise. Initially, many sounds, including your own voice and background sounds, may be too loud. You may need to schedule one or more follow-up visits with your audiologist to get your hearing aids programmed as best as possible for your situation. Keep notes about your issues so you can provide helpful details when you visit your audiologist.
It is not unusual to have an attendee mention at one of our meetings that they are struggling with new hearing aids. In a few cases, they have even mentioned that they no longer wear them. It is important to wear new hearing aids as much as you can so that your brain can adjust to the new sounds. Many people don’t realize that we hear with both our ears and our brain. Our ears capture the sound, and our brain processes and interprets the sounds into meaningful information. Your brain needs time to adjust to new hearing aids.
Four years ago, I had surgery to implant a cochlear device. When the device was first activated, all I could hear was clicks. Initially, that was a frustrating experience, as I had lost all the residual hearing in that ear due to the surgery. My audiologist encouraged me to work on what she called “rehab exercises.” Those exercises involved listening to audiobooks, closed-caption TV programs, as well as apps developed by the cochlear implant manufacturer. In a very short period, those clicks became words. Initially, voices sounded robotic, but over time, voices started to sound normal. I would recommend similar exercises if you have recently purchased new hearing aids. You should wear new hearing aids as long as you can during the day.
Our group meets on the second Friday of every month at 10 a.m. in the Catalina Room in the Mesquite building. For more information about our group, contact Lyle Larson at lllarson72@gmail.com. We typically have one or two Doctor of Audiology students from the University of Arizona in attendance who are happy to answer your questions. If you have questions about this article or would like to have your email added to our distribution list, contact me at tgaule@outlook.com.