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Related Items: Children and Families, Faq's, Audiology, Resources, Assistive Technology
Hearing Aids and Realistic Expectations
- Hearing aids work very well when fitted and adjusted appropriately
- Hearing aids amplify sound
- You might like one hearing aid better than another
- Hearing aids should be comfortable with respect to physical fit and sound quality.
- The left and right hearing aids will probably not fit exactly the same and probably won’t sound exactly the same
- Hearing aids do not restore normal hearing and are not as good as normal hearing
- You will be aware of hearing aids in your ears
- Until you get used to them, your voice will sound “funny” when you are wearing hearing aids
- Hearing aids should not be worn in extremely noisy environments
- Hearing aids usually cannot completely eliminate background noise
- Speak with your hearing healthcare professional about options that significantly reduce background noise, such as directional microphones and FM systems. FM systems and other assistive devices can be very helpful.
Getting Used to Hearing Aids
- Some people need a day or two to learn about and adjust to their hearing aids, most people need a few weeks and some may need a few months
- There is no perfect way to learn about hearing aids
- Wear your new hearing aids for a few hours the first day and add about an hour a day for each following day
- Eventually you will wear the hearing aids most of your waking hours
- It is suggested that you interact with people most familiar to you during your first few days
- Start off wearing your hearing aids in a favorable listening environment (such as one-on-one conversations in quiet) and work towards more difficult listening situations
- Let your friends and family know you’re using your new hearing aids
- You should not wear hearing aids in noise until you are very accustomed to them
- If you have two ears with hearing loss, and if both can benefit from hearing aids, you need two hearing aids
- Binaural hearing (using both ears) provides localization, which is
knowing where sound is coming from, and is not possible with one ear
- Binaural hearing allows a more “spacious” quality to sounds
- Hearing with two ears helps in understanding speech
Hearing Aid Maintenance
- More than 75 percent of all hearing aid repairs are due to moisture and earwax accumulating in the hearing aid
- It is extremely important to clean the entire hearing aid every time is removed from your ear by wiping and brushing it
- To better protect your investment use a dry-aid kit every night
- Moisture is the enemy of hearing aids
- A well maintained hearing aid can last 5 to 7 years
Implants
- Middle-ear Implants are surgically implanted devices that have been approved by the FDA for specific hearing losses; such as chronic middle ear conductive hearing loss and Single Sided Deafness (SSD).
- The implants work by vibrating the middle ear bones to produce a bone conduction signal or vibration via bone conduction to the skull and then to the inner ear
- Middle ear implants are less likely to produce feedback and they do not occlude (plug up) the ear canal
- Cochlear Implants are generally for people with sever-to-profound sensorineural (nerve) hearing loss. CIs are only recommended after a person has tried appropriately fitted hearing aids and have not shown sufficient benefit
- CIs are surgically implanted in the inner ear
- CIs are FDA approved and are covered by most insurance programs
- The CI is a device used to bypass the nonfunctional inner ear and converts sound into electrical impulses that directly stimulate the cochlear nerve
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