What are the 5 Steps towards Successful Hearing?

These are the pillars of success that thousands of hearing aid users followed to transition towards a life of healthy hearing:

1.  Acceptance: Accepting the fact that you have hearing loss is a step that needs to take place before choosing your hearing aids. Acknowledging that you have permanent hearing loss, will pave the way for a smooth transition in getting the treatment that you need. This will help you become more receptive to recommendations from your hearing healthcare provider. The longer you wait, the worse your hearing will get. Wearing hearing aids will help to preserve the hearing that you still have, and slow down the onset of cognitive decline. There are many other benefits, but these are two of the most important ones.

2. Arrive with a Positive Attitude: Having a positive attitude during your journey towards better hearing will help you achieve the goals that you’ve set for yourself. The act of purchasing hearing aids alone, will not guarantee success in hearing. It’s been proven that people who approach the time it takes to adapt to hearing aids with a positive attitude are more likely to reap the benefits of hearing aid usage.   

3. Research: One of the best ways to overcome fear when it comes to your hearing health, is to do research and educate yourself. Learn about your specific type of hearing loss and treatment options, so that you can fully engage with your hearing instrument specialist during your adjustment period. It will benefit you, your hearing instrument specialist, your loved ones, and other people with whom you regularly interact. Hearing deals with more than just your ears. You also need to use your brain and other senses.

4. Expect Realistic Outcomes: Set your expectations at a realistic level. Hearing aids will help you hear better, but it won’t be exactly the same as it was before your hearing loss. Concentrate on subtle improvements. Your learning curve may span between six weeks to six months. Your progress depends on how often you engage in practice exercises and how hard you commit yourself to using the hearing aids.

How to Handle the Confusion of Sounds

As you start to use hearing aids, your brain will become alarmed that it is suddenly picking up signals from harnessed sound waves that it has been missing for years. Your brain needs to adjust and relearn high-frequency sounds in speech and surrounding noises. 

Re-acclimating your brain to actual sounds, when all you’ve been hearing were distorted noises due to your hearing impairment, could be strenuous. Your perceptions of sound will eventually get better.

The sounds might initially seem too loud, like the actual hum of your refrigerator, the flushing sound of your toilet, the sound of your washing machine, or the clicking sound of your turn signal when you drive your car. Or even listening to your favorite music again. The joy of hearing it again might take some getting used to. All of these sounds will soon become part of your subconscious again when your brain starts to register them.  

5. Practice Listening and be Patient: The fifth and final step is practicing, taking your time, and being patient. After you have acclimated your brain for several hours, you will be able to hear again without using so much energy to concentrate. 

Start with a schedule where you keep your hearing aids in your ears for part of your day, and then slowly continue wearing them from the time you get up in the morning to the time you go to sleep.

Hearing health professionals have also recommended listening to an audiobook to help you practice listening and speech comprehension. Whenever you start feeling fatigued, you can simply turn it off and take a break. Keep practicing and, if necessary, reach out for support. These techniques have shown improvement in many hearing aid users.  

If you or a loved one needs hearing aids, please contact us at Pure Sound Hearing for a complimentary hearing test and consultation. ​

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