Hearing aids work wonders when they’re properly tuned and fitted.
They have the capability to greatly improve your hearing capacity in those situations you’ve been struggling in the most, like background noise.
But part of my job as an audiologist involves helping people manage their expectations.
You see, hearing aids are just that – aids. Often I explain to my clients that they’re dealing with devices made to help people with hearing loss, but they can’t cure hearing loss. And they can’t make you hear what someone with ‘extra good’ hearing wouldn’t in extra tricky settings.
Hearing aids are made to help people with their difficulties by providing more information to the brain than they receive naturally.
You get out what you put in
It’s important to remember that someone who only wears their hearing aids when they feel like it will get less benefit than someone who wears theirs all the time. That’s like expecting your new running shoes to win a race, even though you don’t practice.
Elaine explains it well in her piece Yes, you need to treat hearing loss as soon as possible.
By giving the brain more hearing information, hearing aids are also training the brain to listen to more information and to process the speech cues that are needed for conversation, particularly in noisy situations.
As in life, to be successful with anything, to get the most out of your hearing aids you must have the 3 P’s: Patience, Persistence and Perseverance.
Follow and scroll down to receive a free copy of How to Get the Most Out of Your Hearing Aids by Dr Saunders.
Thanks for explaining how hearing aids work! My sister just found out that her son needs a hearing aid, so the whole family has been doing a bit of research. It’s cool that by giving the brain more sound, hearing aids also train the brain to listen for more information. That totally makes sense.