Using Hearing Instruments Successfully.

A 10 Step Learnig Program.

The joys of using hearing instruments & what you should always keep in mind.

Learning to use hearing instruments optimally and enjoyable is possible for most people with impaired hearing. How long it takes
depends on many factors: Age and physical health; severity of hearing loss; how long you have had a hearing loss; and, your level
of motivation to improve your hearing.

Getting use to your hearing instruments....

Step 1: Begin with the easier hearing situations

Start your training to hear problems in familiar surroundings, such as around your own home.

  • After you have read the operating instructions carefully and you have familiarized yourself with the operation of your
    instruments, put them on and start conversing with one or two people only.

  • for the first few weeks, don't attempt to wear your instruments in noisy places like the supermarket or the airport or a noisy resturant.

Step 2: Slowly increase your wearing time.

Start with just a few hours a day. After the breaking-in period, it is important that you increase your wearing
time until you are wearing your hearing instrument all day; soon wearing them will be routine. Using your instruments regularly
under varing conditions will teach you how to fully exploit your hearing potential and enjoy optimum benefits from your instruments.

Step 3: Learning to control the volume

  • Don't set the volume control too high, this can result
    in distortion rather then an improved understanding.

  • Don't try to understand soft voices over a great distance. Remember, people who hear well can't do that either.

  • As you gain more learning experience, you will
    be able to adjust your volume control when you feel
    the need to.

Learn to observe yourself.
Step 4: Adapting to your hearing instrument.

Ideally, your hearing instruments should become a part
of your body. similar to glasses or contact lenses.
To achieve this, make
sure your earmold or in-the-ear instrument is a comfortable fit. Should you experience any discomfort or preasure points,
conlult your hearing healthcare professional.

Make allowance for the effects of fatique.

Wearing hearing instruments and hearing a
greater range of sounds may tire you at first.

  • Don't force yourself. Let hearing happen gradually.
    Take a break if you get tired or nervous.

  • Be happy with a little progress each day.

Learn to be an effective listener.

With your hearing instruments it is now easier to hear well and communicate effectively in both quiet and noisy situations.
It is still necessary, however to be an effective listener. Even people with good hearing often have to concentrate on
what they want to hear and ignore or suppress the things they don't. You can learn to be a more effective listener.

  • Try to identify any sounds you don't recognize when you first start wearing your hearing instruments.

  • Practice concentrating on the sounds and voices you want to hear, ignoring those that are less important.

  • When there are a number of different sounds occurring around you, practice shifting your
    attention from one to the other.

    • Adjust to your own voice.

    At first, you may not recognize the sound of your own voice, this is because you are now hearing yourself more correctly
    with the help of your hearing instruments. You now have the opportunity to adjust the volume of your voice and
    the way you pronounce words.

    • It is a good practice to read aloud to yourself
      in this phase of your traning period.

    Learning to hear again in difficult situations.
    Step 5: Living with noise

    The world is a noisy place, people with normal hearing are able to suppress interfering noises by concentrating on the sounds they wish to hear. If, however, you have had a hearing impairment for some time, you may have lost this ability. Furthermore, your hearing instruments will reintroduce you to many sounds you may have forgotten, on the other hand, once again you will hear many wonderful sounds. Your mission is to live comfortably with both unpleasant and pleasant sounds. Practice concentrating on what you want to hear. If you have multi-program instruments, practice choosing the best program for the situation.

    Step 6: Active parcicipation in group conversations.

    Even people who hear well can have problems understanding speech if several people speak at once.So it is understandable if you move closer to the person you want to hear and watch his/her lips. Do not listen to the group but focus on a single speaker at a time. Experienced wearers of hearing instruments manage astonishing results in this type of situation.

    Step 7: Visiting public buildings.

    Theatrers, churches, conference rooms and other public places can challenge the hearing instrument user. It is helpful to sit where the acoustic conditions are best. Normally this is in front of the speaker. It is best if you can see the face of the speaker easily.

    Numerous public buildings have assistive listening devices and systems for anyone wearing hearing instruments.

    Step 8: Listening to radio and television.

    Electronically reproduced speech may be difficult to understand. By focusing on the general meaning the speaker is trying to convey, instead of trying to decipher each word, your ability to use your hearing instruments with radio and television should improve.

    Step 9: Using the telephone with your hearing instruments.

    There are a number of options for using the telephone while wearing your hearing instruments. You can discuss them with your hearing healthcare professional to determine which procedure works best for you. Your local telephone company can give you information about their telephones for people with hearing loss and may have a demonstration center for trying various systems.

    Step 10: Two ears are better then one.

    The use of two hearing instruments for some people with a hearing impairment in both ears has many advantages. In fact, users are often overjoyed with the vast improvement of their hearing.

    The benefits of hearing with both ears: