Many people with hearing loss first notice they are asking their friends and family to repeat more frequently, or they feel everyone around them is mumbling. Getting your hearing evaluated is the first step to treatment. Your audiologist will test your hearing to help determine if you have hearing loss and if you can benefit from amplification.

Hearing aids can make understanding speech much easier. However, they do not restore the natural functioning of your ear.

The life of a hearing aid is about five to seven years. It is important to have regular appointments to ensure your hearing aid is functioning and programmed properly. Hearing aids also come with different warranties, typically two to three years, covering repair and loss replacement. Many hearing aids are still functioning well after seven years, while others may need re-programming, repair, or replacement.

This depends on the type of battery and how many hours per day you wear your hearing aid. Smaller hearing aid batteries need replacing within 3 to 7 days, while larger batteries may last 10 days.

Here’s why two hearing aids can be better than one:
1) Better hearing in a noisy environment:
Research has shown that speech understanding in noisy environments is optimized when the brain receives sound input from both ears.

2) Improved ability to localize sounds:
The brain uses the sound input from both ears to help determine the direction of the sound source. Having a hearing aid in only one ear can alter this sense of direction making it more difficult to localize sound.

It's not unusual to get a headache from wearing new hearing aids, but the effect is temporary. Expect your hearing aids to be comfortable. You should know they are there, but you should never experience ear pain, soreness, bleeding or skin irritation. If any of these occur, remove the hearing aids immediately and see your hearing care professional for an adjustment in fit. Your hearing care provider also can help with itchy ears, which hearing aids can sometimes cause but is easily treated.

It's not unusual to get a headache from wearing new hearing aids, but the effect is temporary. Expect your hearing aids to be comfortable. You should know they are there, but you should never experience ear pain, soreness, bleeding or skin irritation. If any of these occur, remove the hearing aids immediately and see your hearing care professional for an adjustment in fit. Your hearing care provider also can help with itchy ears, which hearing aids can sometimes cause but is easily treated.
Expect to be able to hear soft sounds once again and to be able to hear louder sounds comfortably. See a hearing care professional, however, if “normal loud” sounds, such as the roar of a car engine or a door slamming, are painful.

Adjusting to hearing aids varies from person to person and depends upon how long you waited to treat your hearing loss as well as its severity. Although our ears collect noise from our environment, it’s actually our brain that translates it into recognizable sound. If hearing loss is left untreated, the auditory part of your brain can actually atrophy, in which case your rehabilitation may take a while longer. You’ll also want to wear them as recommended. Following your doctor’s orders improves your chances for success.

Most patients have hearing loss in both ears that can benefit by amplification. Two hearing aids are best for natural hearing.