You or someone you know may have difficulty hearing and they have decided to do something about their hearing loss. Gardner Audiology makes this new experience with hearing aids as comfortable as possible with these tips to loved ones and family members.
- Try your best not to raise your voice. It will take some practice since you’ve been raising your voice to be heard for the past few years. If you raise your voice now, it will be too loud for the new hearing aid user.
- Do not test their hearing. A new hearing aid user does want to compare your ability to hear to what they are hearing.
- Be patient. Hearing loss rarely happens overnight. More than likely, it was a slow, gradual decline until the issue was no longer, they could ignore. Reinforce that learning to listening (learning to ignore background noise is one example) will take some time.
- Try to understand what it means to have a hearing loss. To relate you can use a set of earplugs and watch TV or try to talk on the phone to get a little idea of what they experience.
- Ask questions! Is there anything you can do to make their transition into the hearing world easier? You may be surprised at their responses.
In the end. Admitting a problem exists and being willing to do something about it is a big step for anyone. It might take them some time to adjust to better hearing, be patient and supportive. The result will be a satisfied new hearing aid user, friends, as well as family who are happy that they no longer have to repeat themselves. To schedule your free consultation with a Gardner Doctor of Audiology in Inverness or Crystal River call 1-800-277-1182.
