Helpful Tips
COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AND HEARING AIDS
Have others get your attention before they begin speaking.
It’s OK to have someone repeat, but instead of saying "huh", try asking the person to "please repeat" or "rephrase".
Try to reduce or even eliminate background noise by moving away from the noise source.
At home, conversation goes much better if you can turn off the TV or radio. AT a restaurant, it’s OK to ask the management to turn down the music or request that you be seated at a table away from the kitchen or hostess desk.
Communicateing in rooms with poor acoustics such as high ceilings or auditoriums are difficult. Try moving as close as possible to the speaker (sound source).
Try asking your spouse or family members to move clsoer to you when speaking. Communicating from a different room is often impossible.
Request that your family or friends speak slowly, clearly and naturally. Most often, over-exaggeration or shouting is not helpful.
If at all possible, make use of both ears with amplification.
HEARING AID CARE AND MAINTENANCE
Careful care and cleaning of your hearing aid can prevent many typical hearing aid problems, such as a weak hearing aid (not loud enough) or a dead hearing aid (no sound at all). Approximately 80% of hearing aid repairs are caused by ear wax.
Daily cleaning does not need to be a labor or time intensive. A wipe on the outside of the hearing aid with a soft cloth, or better yet, a disinfecting Audiowipe, should be done nightly when the hearing aid is removed. Be sure to store your hearing aid in a safe place, away from children, pets and moisture. Also never leave your hearing aid in a hot or cold vehicle. In the morning before putting in your hearing aids, take a cleaning brush or a clean soft bristle toothbrush and gently brush off all sides of the hearing aid, paying special attention to the microphone (near the battery door) and speaker (where the sound comes out). It is best to hold the hearing aid so that any debris that is brushed off falls OUT and not IN the hearing aid. Brush across the microphone and receiver ports; never jab the brush into the openings. If you brush your hearing aid every day, this will only take a quick second. If you would prefer to brush your hearing aid weekly, it should take less than 1 minute.
Other measures that some people need to take include:
1. Retubing earmolds for those with behind the ear hearing aids.
2. Changing wax baskets for those with hearing aids equipped with this product.
3. Changing the AdHear wax guards for those who need the added protection.
And of course, we always encourage our patients to come in for a free hearing aid cleaning at least every 6 months. Some people may need to come in more often, every 1 to 3 months instead.
Persistent care and maintenance of your hearing aid will keep it working better and longer and keep you hearing better!
WHY ARE TWO EARS BETTER THAN ONE?
Research studies show that many people with hearing loss in both ears benefit from hearing aids in each ear. Two ears more effectively process sound in the brain. God gave us two ears for a reason. Both ears can more easily hear sounds fuller with better clarity, making conversation more understandable. People who wear two hearing aids enjoy more balanced hearing and show less deterioration in speech understanding than those who wear only one hearing aid. Also, people who have "ringing in the ears" are less bothered by the ringing with two hearing aids than just one. So, with a hearing loss in both ears it makes sense to wear two hearing aids.
Keep all this in perspective by remembering that hearing aids do have limitations and will not restore your hearing back to normal. Adjusting to new and different sounds can sometimes take the brain up to 6 months to be retrained to all the new sounds. Be patient and positive. The world of sound is worth the effort.