IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR HEARING AIDS. Warranty Information Drop-In Hours (Head Offi ce Only) Adjusting to your New Hearing Aids

Transcription

1 IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR HEARING AIDS Warranty Information Drop-In Hours (Head Offi ce Only) Adjusting to your New Hearing Aids

2 ADJUSTING TO YOUR NEW HEARING AIDS It may be wise to start by wearing your hearing aids gradually. You may want to wear the hearing aids for only an hour a day for the first week, increasing your time gradually. It is recommended that you wear your aid(s) in quiet environments during the first week giving you time to grow accustomed to new sounds. If you begin to feel fatigue or irritation, either from listening to amplified sounds or soreness of the ear canal, take the aids off and rest awhile; then try again. If your ear mold or custom hearing aid does not feel comfortable or causes pain and/or irritation, please contact our office as soon as possible as we may be able to buff or grind the ear mold or custom shell so that it feels better. FIRST WEEK - QUIET SITUATIONS FIRST: Begin by wearing your hearing aids in situations in which the surrounding environment is relatively quiet. If you are a new user, wear your aid for approximately 1 to 2 hours the first day. For each day thereafter, gradually increase the number of hours you wear the aid, e.g. add 1 to 2 hours of wear each successive day. By the end of the first week, you should be wearing the aid for approximately 5 to 8 hours during the day. Adjust your aids to a comfortable level, for listening to others and to your own voice. Seek out situations in which you can engage family members or friends in one-to-one conversation. Listen to the sounds around you: the hum of the refrigerator, the tick of the clock, birds chirping, dogs barking, the TV set at a normal level. Some of these environmental sounds you may enjoy listening to again; others you may not. Remember, these are the sounds every person with normal hearing listens to everyday. Eventually, you may be able to ignore most of life s annoying sounds just as people with normal hearing do. 5. Remove the aids at night when you sleep, and do not wear them during bathing, showering or water activities. Page 1

3 SECOND WEEK - NOISY ENVIRONMENTS: After the first week, start wearing the aid in noisier environments, but start out slowly, i.e. 1 to 2 hours the first time in noise, and then gradually increase wear time in these situations. Gradually seek out situations in which you can converse with and listen to more than one person. Try to pick out each different speaker s voice. Wear your hearing aids in as many different listening situations as you possibly can. Learn what you can do and what you cannot do with your hearing aids. If you find yourself encountering too many difficult listening situations, it might be advisable for you to enroll in a class concerned with instruction of communication strategies for the hard of hearing. Our Agency offers Better Communication with Hearing Loss classes every month. Classes are free with new hearing aid purchases; otherwise, there is a nominal fee. For more information, please refer to our brochure Communication Suggestions. Do not strain to catch every word. The importance of listening carefully, and of concentrating on what is being said, cannot be over-emphasized, but don t worry if you miss an occasional word. People with normal hearing miss individual words or parts of sentences and unconsciously fill in with the thought expressed. (Keep your eyes on the face of the speaker; speech reading is a great help as a supplement to the hearing aids.) 6. If your aid has special programs or features that may assist you to hear more effectively in noisier environments, test out these features before your next visit. If you want to get started with LACE Training, please contact: Henry Lam hlam@widhh.com Page 2

4 BALANCE YOUR HEARING AIDS: If you have hearing loss in both ears, it is always best to use two aids. With two aids, you may learn to subdue background noise, as time goes by. You will probably never be able to overcome distracting and interfering noise if you only use one aid. It is important to have the hearing aids equally loud and sounding the same in both ears. Turn your head from left to right while listening to a radio or other sound source, to ensure your hearing is reasonably balanced. AIDED EAR TOWARD THE SOUND: If you only wear one aid, you will usually want to position yourself so that your aided ear is directed toward the sound sources. Remember the sound shadow cast by the head is a factor that must be contended with if you wear only one aid. MANAGEMENT OF YOUR HEARING AID: If your hearing aid whistles, it may be turned up too loud, it may not be correctly inserted in your ear, or it may be fitting poorly. Speak to your Audiologist about this issue. Be sure you know how to clean your hearing aid. Be sure you know the best method for using your aid with the telephone. Be careful with your hearing aid batteries around small children and pets. They are poisonous if swallowed. Keep your batteries in a cool, dry place, but not in the refrigerator. Page 3

5 ONGOING PRACTICE: These activities should begin as soon as you get your aids and continue during the entire hearing aid adjustment period Increase your tolerance for loud sounds. If your aid has a manual volume control and you are able to use it, adjust your aids to a comfortable level and adjust it for louder sounds if needed. If your aid has an automatic volume control, observe if your aid is providing a comfortable volume for most of your environments. At first, hearing aid users tend to be sensitive to all the new sounds they are hearing. It takes time for your ears and your brain to get acclimatized to your new auditory environment. The Audiologist may have even set your volume at a conservative level at the beginning, to give you time to adjust to the aids comfortably. After you have grown more accustomed to your aid, soft sounds should be audible, conversational level sounds should be comfortable, and louder sounds should not cause discomfort. If you are troubled by the sharpness of sounds, be sure to tell your Audiologist, as adjustments can usually be made. Practice learning to discriminate different speech sounds. Prepare a list of words, which differ in one sound only. For example: food / mood see / she could / good ball / all feel / peel gown / down We thank you for your business. Proceeds from the sale of our products support one of our many social service programs; including the Lend an Ear program, which provides refurbished hearing aids to those who cannot afford to purchase new hearing aids. For more information, please visit Page 4

6 DROP-IN HOURS (HEAD OFFICE ONLY) Audiometric Technicians now see clients on a first-come, first-served basis for technical problems during the following drop-in hours: MONDAYS WEDNESDAYS FRIDAYS 9:00am to 4:00pm Note: limited services during lunch hour (12:00pm to 1:00pm) WHAT IS A TECHNICAL PROBLEM? Tube change Review of insertion/removal of hearing aid Discomfort from ear mold or hearing aid Cleaning, troubleshooting, etc. Dead or intermittent hearing aid Picking up hearing aid repair or ear mold * Note: appointment can be booked with a technician if you are unable to come during drop-in hours BOOK AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR WIDHH AUDIOLOGIST IF: You think you need a new ear mold or new shell for your hearing aid You require changes to the sound or volume of the hearing aid You think that the problem may be caused by a change in your hearing or you need a hearing test QUESTIONS? CONTACT US AT: Head Office - Phone: or TTY: Willow Office - Phone: or TTY: Tri-Cities Office - Phone: or TTY: Page 5

7 BETTER COMMUNICATION WITH HEARING LOSS COURSE The Better Communication Course offers strategies in hearing loss management. This small, interactive group setting is led by Henry Lam, a Registered Audiologist and Hearing Instrument Practitioner. Over the course of four weeks, this class presents tips on difficult situations that Hard of Hearing persons face daily. Sign-up to learn how to get the most out of your hearing aid, to learn about reading lips and to discover ways you can communicate more comfortably and effectively! Place: WIDHH, 2125 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, BC Time: New classes start every month* Wednesdays, 1:30pm - 3:30pm Cost: FREE with new hearing aid purchases** Instructor: Henry Lam, M.Sc., RAUD, RHIP, Registered Audiologist * Classes may be cancelled if there is not enough enrollment ** $20 for WIDHH clients; $80 for non-clients For more information, or to register for a course, please contact: Henry Lam or hlam@widhh.com How can I better cope with my hearing loss? How do I get the most out of my hearing aids? Why do I still not understand in restaurants? Page 6

8 Head Office 2125 West 7th Avenue Vancouver, BC V6K 1X Phone TTY Fax Willow Office # Willow Street Vancouver, BC V5Z 3N Phone TTY Fax Tri-Cities Office # Lougheed Hwy. Port Coquitlam, BC V3B 5Y Phone TTY Fax Okanagan # Dolphin Avenue Kelowna, BC V1Y 8A Phone TTY Fax