Overcoming Hearing Aid Anxiety

Many people are anxious when they get hearing aids for the first time. They’ve already been to a hearing healthcare professional and learned, like 48 million Americans, they have some degree of hearing loss.

Something happens after that initial appointment. Once learning they have hearing loss, less than 75 percent of people with hearing loss who could benefit from hearing aids actually use them. Furthermore, those who do use hearing aids wait, on average, seven to 10 years before seeking treatment for their hearing loss, putting themselves at risk for cognitive decline.

To put you at ease, here’s what you can expect for your hearing aid fitting, the next step in your journey toward better hearing.

What happens during a hearing aid fitting?

You’ve already had your audiogram, learned which hearing aids are best for you and made the decision to move forward. The hard part is over. Now it’s time for your hearing aid fitting. The hearing aid fitting appointment will take about an hour and involves an orientation to your new hearing aids, a test to ensure your hearing aids provide the right amplification and a discussion of your expectations for your hearing aids. 

You may have already discussed at some length the features of your hearing aids when you picking them out. Now is the time to truly understand how those features function so that you can get the most out of them when you’re out there in the real world.

How do you know if it fits right?

To ensure your hearing aids are tuned to your degree of hearing loss, your hearing professional will likely perform an ear measure test, which measures the sounds entering the hearing aids. The test will use speech or a calibrated tone that will go through the hearing aid. Your hearing specialist will ask you to react to the tone and determine whether it is too soft, too loud or just right.

How do you adjust to hearing aids? 

Discussing your expectations of your hearing aids is important during this appointment. Remember — hearing aids do not fully restore your hearing. It’s also important to keep in mind that it’s unlikely your hearing aids will fit perfectly after your hearing aid fitting appointment. If this is your first time wearing hearing aids, your hearing practitioner will likely provide you a schedule for wearing your hearing aids, indicating when and how long you should wear them for the first week or so. If you have been with reduced hearing for many years, it will take some time for your brain to get used to hearing sounds it hasn’t heard for a long time.

At the end of the fitting, your hearing care provider will schedule follow up visits. As mentioned before, your hearing professional will do his or her best to fit your hearing aids to your degree of hearing loss to make them the most comfortable, but you will most likely need to return for an adjustment; this is normal.