HI - still new to hearing aids - about 2, almost three months.
Does your hearing fatigue at the end of the day, and the morning crispness and ease of hearing fades as the day goes into the evening? I don’t seem to hear as well at night.
Wondering if this is part of the brain getting used to things and it will pass…hope so
I think it takes time to get used to it. I’m most tired when I’m sick, so my head hurts and listening with hearing aids only increases the headache, so it’s a relief when I don’t wear them. In fact, I take short breaks not to wear them.
when you start wearing hearing aids, you only notice that you missed those sounds. And when you take off your hearing aids, you realize that you don’t hear enough, most often at night, but you don’t get used to it.
It is similar to wearing glasses. at first you suffered, you adapted to the situation and since wearing glasses, there has been a big improvement, but when you stop wearing them, you notice that you don’t actually see as well as you should, that it is very difficult without glasses.
As for listening, the brain needs to be trained, it helps if you are more often in a company where you need to talk, it also helps if you listen more often to various podcasts on youtube, news, etc. at first it was hard to listen to some youtube conversations but my brain got used to their voice over time and learned to listen to them. If you find something tiring at first, don’t give up right away, try harder to hear and understand, your brain will learn to listen and recognize words better.
Hearing fatigue in general is a thing for us hard of hearing folks. Not sure if it is the HAs as much as the overall effort to listen while hearing impaired. Before my CI, I just wanted to crawl into bed by 8 PM - just too hard to make that listening effort. Much better now.
Yup! I hear great in the morning. By 10 pm…my ears are tired and over stimulated. Totally normal especially if you are in very noisy places. Funny enough, travelling on airplanes does the same thing.
Jordan
I’m a long term hearing aid wearer and struggle a lot with hearing fatigue. Especially at school, most afternoon after school I sleep😂
I had more of that in the beginning and less if it now, so I do believe some of the fatigue could well pass. However, on busy days I certainly can get hearing fatigue.
A couple of comments:
1 - yes, in general I hear better at the beginning of the day than at night.
2 - but, when I found my current audiologist the improvements he tweaked, have made quite a bit of difference, not only to my general comprehension, but, also, how much longer it takes till it gets tiring.
When I first had hearing aids, it was an on/off relationship where I wouldn’t wear it for months at a time until I realized it was really affecting my positive outcomes.
It does take some time to get used to it, and everyone is different. It’s important to discuss your expectations and outcomes with your audiologist to aid you with overcoming your hearing fatigue. It’s the same thing with glasses. For some, new prescriptions are tiresome and you may want to take your glasses off for a while and just close your eyes because of all the new information your brain is processing.
As I said before. Speak to your audiologist. See if they can help lower the overall volume of your hearing aids, and work on acclimating to your hearing prescription. It will take some persistence, but you will eventually overcome it. Keep your head up.
I pretty much hear the same all day.
The left ear sounds will change during the day sometimes.
It will start to sound hollow and loud.
That is the ear with distortion.
I think it has something to do with moisture in the ear along with wax.
I am going for a consultation, but I really don’t think my hearing is all that bad yet. I hate to spend money on expensive Audibel type hearing aids and have to go through the aggravation of training etc. Is there a cheaper alternative that I can just try on for a trial? I had my hearing checked. I don’t have the results here with me because I am out of state. I really would like advice on trying something out first. The audiologist technician told me I would have to wear the kind that fit behind the ear. I only have trouble hearing certain consonant sounds at the begining and ending of words.
You don’t indicate what country you are in, but if you have access to a Costco, that is a great place to start. They sell premium hearing aids manufactured by three of the leading hearing aid manufactures that make Signia, ReSound and Oticon aids. The corresponding brands at Costco are Rexton, Jabra and Philips. The price at Costco is much less than you would pay at one of the hearing aid factory stores or independent audiologists.
On planes, I usually remove HAs and wear ear plugs. Usually am w/o companion and choose to read or sleep.
I am in a similar position to you as I started wearing HA’s at the end of May this year. The first two weeks were weird as can be whilst I was getting used to them. I had to leave the room when my wife stirred a cup of coffee on day one. I have been wearing them consistently and listening to music/YouTube when possible.
The days in the office are the hardest for me as the sounds of the keyboards, conversations etc are still a distraction. Thinking about it those are the days I get a little fatigued but the benefits have been unreal.
I really notice the difference in clarity when I use my headphones for Teams calls or phone calls. I am using the free Oticon NHS HA’s in the UK and have yet to get the OPN connect to make better use of my Android phone and computer. I am being provided a free Oticon TV connector which should help for the evenings.
After 3 months I have had the audiologist alter my mid levels to try and help with the wind noise. Hopefully it should help a little but it was only changed yesterday.
Go to Costco, you will get the best and lowest price without losing quality.
You are still new to the field, but hearing is something you shouldn’t skimp on.
Word of advice.
Stay away from Audibel.
Sales orientated.
My experience, they go through audiologist constantly.
Audibels are Starkey.
Your better off going to an ENT office with a audiologist that fits Starkey.
I second going to Costco.