If you’re one of the millions of people who have decided to treat your hearing loss with hearing aids, congratulations! Taking this step towards prioritizing your hearing health will improve many aspects of your life and make it easier to socialize with others, whether at a big family barbeque or when dining out with friends at Portland City Grill.
As a new hearing aid user, you might wonder how to know if you’re putting your hearing aids in the right way. Let’s review some helpful tips to get you started, as well as signs that your hearing aid might not be fitting correctly.
Different Hearing Aids Have Slightly Different Steps 
Choosing a hearing aid that works best for you is a comprehensive process that considers factors like your home and work life, hobbies, additional health conditions, style preferences and your degree of objective and subjective hearing loss.
Depending on these factors and more, you might choose a model that goes behind your ear or inside your ear canal. These hearing aids will have slightly different steps for insertion and removal. However, there are some general tips to keep in mind when putting in your device.
Ask Questions During and After Your Fitting
Your hearing specialist will walk you through how to put in your hearing aids during your initial fitting and is available for additional questions after that. If something doesn’t feel right or you need help understanding a specific step, feel free to ask. They are there to help!
Check That Each Hearing Aid Goes in the Correct Ear
Your hearing aids are not interchangeable. There is one made for your left ear and one for your right. You’ll be able to tell which is which because the left hearing aid will have a blue marker and the right one a red marker.
Additionally, you’ll find it easier if you put in your right hearing aid with your right hand and the left with your left hand.
Use A Mirror
It can be helpful to look in the mirror when putting in your hearing aids, especially at first, so that you can see what you’re doing and how they look once they are in your ear properly.
Make Sure Your Hearing Aids Are Clean
Cleaning your hearing aids every night is one of the best ways to keep them functioning well for a long time and to ensure a proper fit. If earwax or other debris builds up on your device, it won’t fit well inside your ear and may even cause discomfort.
Signs Your Hearing Aids Aren’t Fitting Properly
If you experience any of the following, your hearing aids likely are not inserted correctly, or the fit needs to be adjusted:
- Discomfort or pain while wearing them
- The volume is often too loud or too soft
- They regularly fall out of your ear
- You experience frequent high-pitched whistling sounds in your hearing aid
To address any hearing aid issues or to ask questions about proper fit, call the experts at PDX ENT today.
