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Five Steps to Better Hearing, Part Four Step Four: Set Realistic Expectations If your hearing was lost suddenly, or has been lost over time, you will not hear again like you once did with normal hearing. This is true regardless of the type of hearing loss you have or the type of hearing aids you own. Similar to dentures, hearing aids are only a substitute for the original — with them you may live a near-normal life; without them you will certainly be handicapped. Focus on your improvement, not on those negative times when your hearing aids don’t let you hear what you want to hear. If you become discouraged, refer to your AIDED and UNAIDED scores on your audiogram. You may be achieving a significant percent of improvement over how well you would be hearing without hearing aids. Your hearing aids’ job is to help you hear better — not perfectly. Twenty percent of the times hearing aid shells must be sent back to be remade for a better fit. This is normal. Let us know should your ear become sore. This can be remedied. The “tinny” or mechanical sounds you hear are normal. These are the soft, high-frequency sounds you have been missing. Your hearing aids are giving these sounds back to you. This may be bothersome at first, but better understanding comes from letting you hear them. Be patient while your brain gets reacquainted with these sounds. Many internal electronic adjustments will be made step-by-step over several weeks by one of our staff to help your brain gradually become acclimated to normal listening levels again. This will require several visits. These adjustments will be made to your hearing aids while you wait, with your input. At first your voice may sound strange to you. Some wearers say that in the beginning they sound like they are in a barrel. In time, it will sound natural. Background noise is normal. Normal-hearing people hear it too. Don’t give up on hearing aids because noise bothers you. Better hearing will require you to put up with a few inconveniences. Buying hearing aids won’t give instant gratification. There is a learning curve which usually takes from six weeks to six months. Success comes from practice and commitment to wear them all the waking hours. Stick with it — you will succeed. Part-time users will fail to receive the full benefit of hearing aids...
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