If you have been diagnosed with hearing loss, then hearing aids are typically the single best approach to treat them. However, as helpful as they can be, and as well as they can improve your quality of life, wearing them can come with some caveats that you might have to get used to. Here, we’re going to look at some of the most common issues people face when using new hearing aids.
Getting acclimated to them
Most people who get hearing aids fitted for the first time do not immediately feel completely at one with them, able to wear them all day without issue. It can be tiring to wear them because your ears and brain are being exposed to levels of noise perception they haven’t experienced in perhaps a long time. As such, you should only wear them in quiet environments for a couple of hours a day, to begin with. As time goes on, you can wear them for longer, and wear them in different environments, getting more used to them.
Getting headaches
When people first receive and wear hearing aids, it is common for them to experience headaches. This is a somewhat common example of hearing aid side effects. Typically, gradually increasing the length of time they wear the hearing aids each day can help them adjust. However, if the headaches persist, it may be necessary to make adjustments to the hearing aids to accommodate changes in the ear canal or hearing ability. A hearing instrument specialist can assist in customizing the hearing aids to meet individual needs.
A lot more earwax
Every ear produces earwax and they’re supposed to. It’s a regular process that the ears do to get rid of dirt, debris, and protect against bacteria, prevent things like ear infections. However, people who wear hearing aids tend to produce more wax than others and this can become an issue. For one, it can begin to affect your device. You should clean your hearing aid every day to prevent wax from clogging up the microphone, receiver, or other parts of it, but you should also consider having your ears cleaned by a professional more regularly, too.
A high-pitched whining noise
If you experience a loud, unpleasant sound that can be like a high-pitched whine or a whistling sound when wearing your hearing aid, then it’s very likely that you’re experiencing feedback. This typically happens when the mic and receiver of the device are too close and the mic picks up the amplified sound from the receiver, causing a feedback loop that amplifies it over and over again until it creates that sound. You can try adjusting the mic if it is external, but in most cases, a professional repair is what’s needed.
With the tips above, you can make sure that you’re able to acclimate to your hearing aids and treat any and all side effects that can come with them. Most who wear hearing aids are able to get used to life with them without too much trouble.
