Rebecca A Withey: what to expect from a new hearing aid, by a hearing aid wearer! – The Limping Chicken
This morning I received an email from a ‘hearing aid expert’ which went into detail about what to expect from a new hearing aid. After conducting a little research (aka google!) I soon realised that this expert was, in fact, a hearing audiologist who didn’t personally wear hearing aids.
At first I laughed at the irony but then I then sat and thought for a while. I’ve always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with hearing aid…….
This morning I received an email from a ‘hearing aid expert’ which went into detail about what to expect from a new hearing aid. After conducting a little research (aka google!) I soon realised that this expert was, in fact, a hearing audiologist who didn’t personally wear hearing aids.
At first I laughed at the irony but then I then sat and thought for a while. I’ve always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with hearing aids, but in all honesty I do really appreciate the hearing aids I currently wear.
Glancing through the list that this hearing aid ‘expert’ sent me, I didn’t find anything particularly useful, with tips such as ‘reading out loud to yourself to correct your voice volume’ and so on going right over my head…
I thought back to when I was seven years old and resisted wearing uncomfortable hearing aids with a passion. What do I wish I could have told my non-hearing aid self back then, which would have made things easier?
I also reflected on the time I found myself at 18 years old suddenly dependent on my hearing aids after experiencing a massive drop in my hearing. Overnight, it seemed, I went from getting by without hearing aids to suddenly not being able to manage day to day activities without them.
So, I decided to compile a list of my own. I am not a hearing aid expert for sure, but I am a hearing aid wearer. Perhaps this list will be of use to anyone struggling to get comfortable with hearing aids, and it may offer a chuckle to other hearing aid wearers who have experienced similar.
My version of ‘what to expect from a new hearing aid’ goes as follows:
It’s going to be loud, real loud.
When I first started wearing hearing aids, I had no idea how NOISY the world was. From the beeping of car indicators, the harsh clunking of mugs and the clip clopping of heels on the pavement, it’s enough to give anyone a headache.
When I started to wear hearing aids at the age of seven my teacher noticed I would blink whenever there was a loud sound, as the jarring noise startled me. I also started blinking rapidly if someone raised their voice close to me. My parents got the hearing aids turned down slightly and I would also remember to take them out if the environment was too noisy for my brain to deal with.
As hearing aids amplify everything, it can feel uncomfortably loud at first so feel free to go back to the audiologist and ask for volume adjustment or the ability to turn down your hearing …….
