Hearing Aid Expectations
Expectations- A Key to Success
Adapted from Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D- Better Hearing Institute, Alexandria, Virginia
Here are some issues you should keep in mind as you develop appropriate expectations of hearing aids:
- Restore Hearing.
Even with the most advanced technology, hearing aids cannot restore your hearing to normal. - Types of hearing aids.
Not all hearing aids perform the same with every type of hearing loss. - Hearing in Noise.
No hearing aid has been designed that will filter out ALL background noise. Most hearing aids reduce background noise or make you more comfortable of noise. With directional hearing, digital signal processing, your hearing aids are optimized for noisy environments. - Fit and comfort.
You should expect the fit to be comfortable, and ideally you should not even know the hearing aids are in your ears! - Sounds.
Hearing aids should allow you to hearing soft sounds you were missing (e.g. child's voice, soft speech). They also protect you from uncomfortably loud sounds in noisy environments.