Gearing Up

Getting what I need for great hearing health.

When it came to actually deciding what hearing aids I would get, Greg made his recommendations based on my age, my lifestyle and what I like to do. He also took into account the shape of my ears to make sure there was space for the aids to fit, so they would be comfortable.

Greg recommended two options that he felt would suit me, and my hearing loss, best. One was a slightly larger unit than the ones I have, which are really small. Most people can’t see them at all. Apparently my ears are quite tight to my head and I don’t have a lot of space behind my ears, so the smaller ones were the most comfortable. Honestly though, none of the hearing aids looked all that big to me.

The ones I have are completely unobtrusive, and it’s amazing technology. We ordered it in black to match my hair and off I went. I think a little less than two weeks later I was back, and Greg was installing the prescription into the hearing aid.

When they actually give you your hearing aid for the first time they set it to gradually come up to full prescription. Apparently if they give you the full load right out of the chute, it’s just too overwhelming. That in itself is an interesting thought. Hearing better would be overwhelming? Makes you think again how much you’ve been missing. Instead they set it to build up over a period of about 4 or 5 weeks.

When Greg first popped them on he looked at me, talked a little, and said, “So? What do you hear?”

“I hear sibilance,” I told him. I heard that s sound for the first time in years. Greg smiled at me, “Good, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

So I had my new hearing aids and instructions on how to start getting used to wearing them. I also had homework, a couple questions that I have to answer everyday. So off I went to hear the world again.

Day 1
Hours I wore my hearing aids: 9
Sound I heard again: the pump on my aquarium

Day 3
Hours I wore my hearing aids: 13
Things I heard better than before: radio & television

Day 5
Hours I wore my hearing aids: 12
Issue readjusting to hearing: some difficulty in social setting with lots of background noise

Day 7
Hours I wore my hearing aids: 12
Sound I noticed that I hadn’t before: traffic

The days and weeks since have all had some kind of wow moment. A new sound I’d forgotten existed, an old sound I’d forgotten I enjoyed so much or just an appreciation that I could hear the coffee brewing in the morning.