Your initial success with your new hearing aids begins with the original fitting. This will be a new and exciting feeling for you. If you take this process methodically, you will in next to no time appreciate the many benefits of better hearing.

1. It won´t be long before you get used to the feel of your new hearing aids. They are foreign objects in your ear and will feel that way for a few days. However, before you know it, they will be like your watch or any familiar piece of jewellery.

2. You will be given a wearing agenda. Please remember to continue with the timetable. You can wear your devices for more hours but not less, provided you don´t feel any discomfort. The object is to make your hearing aids part of your day-after-day routine.

3. You will hear your speech differently at first. You may question how loud you are speaking and how you sound to your family and friends. Your speech will become more natural to you with each week that passes.

4. Take time to adapt to new sounds. voices may be heard as loud, tinny, sharp, or booming and echo-like.

5. Take time to become conversant with any hearing aid controls, such as volume controls and push buttons. Practice removing and inserting your hearing aids a few times a day so that it becomes automatic for you. it will get more easy with time and patience.

6. Your family and friends need to be involved in your hearing aid adjustment phase. Your new hearing devices will help tremendously, but there is no way to restore all your hearing to a completely normal level

7. Try to keep your physical distance for conversation with others at about 1 metre. Try to find restaurants and public places where it´s easier to hear and understand. The acoustics of a room or setting can make a big difference in how well you hear. ultimately, you should be in charge of your better hearing experience. Only you can hear what you´re experiencing.

8. Remember, you have to crawl before you can walk, and you have to walk before you run. It may have taken years for your hearing to degenerate, and your hearing will not improve overnight. Patience will be the key to success with your new hearing aids.

Better hearing is better living.

Why get a hearing aid?

There are three great reasons to get a hearing aid:

It’s good for your health

A study on untreated hearing loss by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), showed that people who got a hearing aid:

• They are more likely to participate in social activities
• They report lower levels of depression
• They report better relationships with significant others
• They report better social interaction
• They report more emotional stability
• They report lower levels of anger and frustration

So get a better life by getting a better hearing aid!

It’s good for your job

A ”Hearing Loss on Household Income” study released May 16, 2007 by the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) stated that “Although people with hearing loss make less money, the use of hearing aids restores lost income by 50 percent. While people with treated and untreated hearing loss both earn less than people with normal hearing, for people with more severe hearing loss, the income decline is cut in half for hearing aid owners. For example, the difference in income between people with mild versus profound hearing loss is $20,300 per year for those with untreated hearing loss and $10,200 for those with hearing aids”.

“Aging Boomers are vital to the work force” said Suzanne Wyatt executive director of The EAR Foundation, a national non-profit organization devoted to hearing loss education and prevention. “Employers must realize the seriousness of hearing loss in our society and take positive steps in finding solutions to help retain this talent.”

That’s right; your wages and worth increase if you wear hearing aids!

It’s good for the country

Many of us are aware of relatives or friends with hearing loss, and the significant impact that this has on their ability to communicate and to participate in society, but few of us would be aware that hearing loss represents a real financial cost to Australia of $11.75 billion per annum or 1.4% of GDP according to a new research study by Access Economics.

The report, officially delivered to Senator the Hon Santo Santoro, Minister for Ageing, at the opening of the Audiology Australia National Conference in Perth, identifies that 1 in 6 Australians is affected by hearing loss, and this number is projected to increase to 1 in every 4 Australians by 2050. Hearing loss is age-related, affecting 3 in every 4 people aged over 70 years.

The Listen Hear! Report, commissioned by the Cooperative Research Centre for Cochlear Implant and Hearing Aid Innovation in partnership with VicDeaf, identifies that productivity loss related directly to hearing impairment accounts for well over half (57%) of the total financial costs – or some $6.7 billion a year.

So, you still want to make a contribution to your community? Don’t let your hearing problems stop you, get a hearing aid! When you consider all those reasons for getting a hearing aid, you can see why we say “It’s all about better living through better hearing”

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