Do Hearing Aids Make Hearing Loss Worse?
A common concern among people experiencing hearing loss is whether wearing hearing aids will actually worsen their hearing loss. This may be partly based on the notion that louder sounds can contribute to hearing loss. However, that is certainly not the case with hearing aids. You will be able to hear some sounds more clearly and audibly, but that has no ill effects on the physical health of the ear. In most cases, it’s all about the way the effects are perceived.
It’s a Matter of Perception
After being fitted with new hearing aids, people often return a few weeks later and report reduced hearing when not wearing them. This is not due to hearing aids having a detrimental impact on hearing. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Hearing aids have been shown to improve hearing over time and slow the progression of hearing loss.
Postponed Treatment
Because the majority of individuals wait so long to get help with hearing, 7 years plus on average, the brain accommodates this loss in order to adapt to daily living. As this occurs, hearing gradually deteriorates, but because it happens so slowly, people are generally not able to perceive the decline. “Normal hearing” becomes a floating bar as the brain adjusts and adapts.
Adjusting to New Hearing Aids
New hearing aid users will go through an adjustment period as they get used to the device. The range of sounds and the level of clarity of which they are being presented may be a little shocking at first. After years of a continual reduction in hearing capacity, the brain is now acclimatizing to all the sounds that have been missed without the help of hearing aids. This creates the need for a new process as the brain establishes a “new normal” level of hearing.
Hearing Loss Misconception
It is no surprise that after wearing hearing aids for a few weeks, your hearing may seem to have declined without them. That dull and quiet world you were living in before the assistance of hearing aids now seems so foreign. Now that the brain has been reintroduced to such a range of clear and audible sounds, it is hard to imagine that your hearing abilities were actually that bad before.
Getting the Right Hearing Aids That Fit
With such a wide variety of hearing aids to choose from, it is critical to get the right device for your ears and have it properly fitted. New hearing aid wearers are often concerned with the device causing damage to the eardrum. The worry is that these newly amplified sounds will cause physical damage to the ear, just as loud environmental sounds can.
Improperly fitted or incorrectly programmed hearing aids can sometimes do more harm than good. That is why it is crucial to consult a hearing professional for advice and assessment to get the right device for you.
Well-fitting and correctly programmed hearing aids can make a world of difference to your hearing and the numerous incredible daily-life benefits that come with them.
