Last month’s article was titled “Expectations”, and it dealt with patient expectations from a ‘hearing healthcare/patient’ perspective. For the next two pieces, I thought it would be informative to write about expectations more specifically regarding the auditory & physical experience of wearing hearing aids.
Over the years, one of the most consistent issues manufacturers have worked to improve is the auditory & physical experience of wearing hearing aids. I always tell my patients that when properly fit, hearing aids should be comfortable in how they feel and how they sound. I wouldn’t wear something that wasn’t comfortable and I don’t expect my patients to want to. So I encourage them to let me know if something isn’t right. After all, I can only fix or address issues I know exist.
Wearing hearing aids should be an incredibly positive experience. You’re suddenly able to hear more clearly, more distinctly. So many of those important and/or beautiful sounds that you’ve been missing out on- children laughing, birds singing, your favorite music are back again. You’re able to more easily communicate and connect with friends, family and/or colleagues in more profound and impactful ways
But sometimes, that moment of ‘awe’ is followed by moments of “ow”. From strange sound quality to itchy or sore ears, new hearing aids aren’t always immediately the comfortable, enjoyable experience they can & should be.
Think back to the first time you wore glasses or contacts? Were they perfectly comfortable from the start? Or have you ever gotten a crown for a tooth? Did they have to remake it? Heck, think about your favorite pair of jeans or shoes. Chances are, it took some time to adjust before they felt ‘right’. Unsurprisingly, hearing aids work much the same way. But with hearing aids, there are a few different aspects that new users need to adjust to. Users need to acclimate both to how they sound & feel. Particularly because they’re worn in a part of the body that is very sensitive (highly innervated) and typically ‘unspoilt’, as it were.
From childhood, the brain learns to unconsciously filter out extraneous information. A healthy auditory system can hear remarkably well in the presence of noise, even when the competing noise is as loud as what we’re trying to hear.
One of the only ‘fringe benefits’ of hearing loss is that sufferers experience a ‘quiet, peaceful world’. But as we know, the world around us is NOT quiet or peaceful (unfortunately). The environmental noises that you’ve missed over the years suddenly become audible, all at once. So for new hearing aid users, the brain is having to essentially be re-trained how to hear and use the information it is now receiving. And the brain has evolved to pay special attention to things that are (suddenly) new to our environment. Millions of years ago, when we were apes in the trees, if there was a sound in our environment, we needed to be able to quickly determine whether it was made by predator, prey, fire, etc.
Since hearing loss happens gradually, most people don’t notice background noises slowly disappearing. When you’re fit with a hearing aid, the world of sound comes back all back at once. So instinctually, our nervous system reacts to all of this information with a heightened state of alert. It takes some time for the brain to adjust and unconsciously filter out those extraneous sounds again. But the good news is that it starts immediately and happens fairly quickly. Of course, the issue could be (in part) related to the programmed settings, requiring adjustment/fine tuning. The goal for our patients is for the hearing aids to restore as much of a natural hearing experience as possible. But if patients are hearing too much background noise, such that it interferes with speech understanding, adjustments can be made to minimize the effects. In addition, assistive devices may need to be employed to dramatically improve understanding in the presence of background noise.
To this point, I’ve touched on acclimating or adjusting to external sounds/inputs. What about sounds that we make ourselves, such as our own voice or chewing noises? And what about the physical side of things? In the final portion of “Expectations”, I’ll examine some of those issues, their causes and potential remedies. Stay tuned!
Kudos to everyone for continuing to listen to the science, following the latest CDC guidelines and keeping us all safer. Keep up the good work, we’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And please continue to support your local businesses.
