Does hearing deteriorate faster if you don't wear your hearing aids?

[Weird_Tolkienish_Fig]

I have fitted molds and they are extremely comfortable. Very thrilled I went with that direction.

[jbobp]

Jbobp: I’m like you in that I don’t wear my hearing aids while home alone, but for me it’s more about comfort. I can only stand to have those things in my ears for so long, then I need a break. Is it that way for you, too?

Mine bother me some if I wear my glasses; if I wear my contacts they don’t bother me. Except sometimes when I eat. My right aid, with acrylic molds, will move when I chew and that drives me nuts. I have to really push in into the ear canal to make it stop, or remove it.

[Ansextra]

Mine bother me some if I wear my glasses; if I wear my contacts they don’t bother me. Except sometimes when I eat. My right aid, with acrylic molds, will move when I chew and that drives me nuts. I have to really push in into the ear canal to make it stop, or remove it.

Speaking for myself I can say that the longer I wear mine the more I forget that I’m wearing them (and I wear glasses as well).

[BlueCrab]

Mine bother me some if I wear my glasses; if I wear my contacts they don’t bother me. Except sometimes when I eat. My right aid, with acrylic molds, will move when I chew and that drives me nuts. I have to really push in into the ear canal to make it stop, or remove it.

Do you have Concha Locks? This should not be happening.

[cwosigns]

Today was my first day off (really nothing to do) since getting these new HAs, and I didn’t put them in until I left the house to grab some Chinese food. Once I got home, I left them in. And after wearing them, when I take them out it is really astonishing how soft everything is. I can’t understand the TV without looking at it if I don’t have my HAs in.

[BlueCrab]

Whenever I take mine out, I feel as though someone has just wrapped a pillow around my head. I actually find it a little difficult to tolerate that feeling. Sometimes I wish I could sleep with them.:rolleyes:

[Psocoptera]

Whenever I take mine out, I feel as though someone has just wrapped a pillow around my head. I actually find it a little difficult to tolerate that feeling. Sometimes I wish I could sleep with them.:rolleyes:

Sometimes I put my head on the pillow and remember I have not yet taken them out. I too am repeatedly aware of how muffled my hearing sounds when I take them out now.

[Ansextra]

Whenever I take mine out, I feel as though someone has just wrapped a pillow around my head. I actually find it a little difficult to tolerate that feeling. Sometimes I wish I could sleep with them.:rolleyes:

I always tell my wife that when I take out my HA’s it feels like my head is under a blanket. Nice to know I’m not alone…

[BlueCrab]

I have been told by several audiologists that one’s hearing deteriorates more rapidly if one doesn’t wear one’s hearing aids. They have all encouraged me to wear my hearing aids from the moment I get out of bed until I climb back in for the night. I’ve always been skeptical of this claim because (A) no one has shown me proof, and (B) it dovetails nicely with hearing aid dealers’ desire that we wear out our hearing aids as quickly as possible. The latest one told me that I should wear hearing aids even if I am home alone.

I asked an ear, nose and throat doctor about this roughly 20 years ago, and he said the audiologists are wrong. The audiologists I tell that story to say the doctor is wrong.

Have any of you heard anything about this or seen proof of audiologists’ claims?

I would gladly wear my hearing aids all day long if they were more comfortable. I had all-in-the-ear aids for 28 years, then switched to behind-the-ear aids four years ago in hope that they would be more comfortable. And they are, but not enough to where I forget I’m wearing them. An audiologist showed me a smaller ear piece that I’m going to try with my next set. Hopefully then I’ll be able to stand having the hearing aids on all day.

Jbobp: I’m like you in that I don’t wear my hearing aids while home alone, but for me it’s more about comfort. I can only stand to have those things in my ears for so long, then I need a break. Is it that way for you, too?

So getting back to the original question, it seems to be the consensus that while your hearing may not get worse due to not wearing the aids, most people feel like it’s still a good idea to wear them all day. Seems to be largely a matter of opinion though. I still stand by my brain atrophy comments, I think when we don’t wear our aids, our brains get lazy.

But something that stands out to me as maybe being more important here is that your aids are not comfortable. I think that may be the root of the problem.

Are you still working with your audiologist? How long have you had these aids? Someone mentioned soft molds, that may be the answer for you. After re-reading this thread, I am becoming less concerned that you don’t wear them all day, and more concerned that they are not comfortable.

[hoopmatch]

You cut to the chase pretty well, BlueCrab. I’ve had 14 hearing aids (two at a time) since 1983, and none of them have been comfortable enough to leave in any longer than I had to. That said, I suspect I’m more susceptible to discomfort than most people, as I also can’t stand to wear rings or wrist watches. (Eyeglasses are no problem, for some reason.) An audiologist told me earlier this month that she could fix me up with ear molds that are roughly a third the size of the molds I have now. I tried one out, and it seemed fine. But then I only had it in for five minutes.

[daisymae]

I’m with BlueCrab in thinking the aids should be very comfortable. That’s probably harder to achieve with some ears than others, but it’s the fitter’s job to rise to the challenge. I’m completely unaware of mine most of the time, and I’m a new user. Most nights I’m crawling into bed when I realize I forgot to take them out.

For what it’s worth, I have Widex receiver-in-canal aids with gumdrop molds.