Hearing aids are intended to help make up for your individual hearing loss condition. If your hearing aids are giving you headaches or any other type of discomfort, whether you’ve been wearing them for years or you’re a new user, there’s a solution.
A properly adjusted hearing aid will fit comfortably in your ear and give you the quality of amplification that meets your individual requirements. If this isn’t the situation, you should make sure you have the appropriate type of hearing aid and that it’s been precisely adjusted.
Indications your hearing aid needs to an adjustment
If your hearing aids are not properly fitted, they can lead to headaches. The reason for this is that they are not being used properly, or haven’t been adjusted for a long time. If this is the case, the following problems might arise:
- Headaches and tinnitus. Hearing aids that are picking up loud sounds and amplifying them further can be painful to your ears and can lead to not only headaches but also tinnitus. Usually, this means the settings are too loud.
- Insufficient sound quality. Hearing aids that aren’t adjusted well can amplify high-intensity sounds, generating a loud screeching noise that’s bothersome and causes injury to your ears. And low volume sound can get lost with hearing aids in this condition.
- Feedback noise. Your hearing aid might pick up and amplify background noise, like wind, which can also trigger annoying, high-pitched feedback sounds.
Over-the-counter hearing aids
While over-the-counter hearing aids, typically called personal sound amplification devices, are available at your local pharmacy, and are less expensive than prescription hearing aids, they won’t be customized to meet your unique hearing loss needs.
Hearing loss is unique to every person so merely amplifying all sounds won’t be enough to help your hearing. There are lots of cases of hearing loss where people lose the ability to hear a specific frequency. Hearing aid settings have to be programmed to allow the individual to be able to hear effectively in different settings.
Professional hearing aid adjustment
Having your hearing aid professionally adjusted is the best way to make sure your device is fitted properly. Custom-fitted hearing aids will be designed just for you using molds of your ears. The settings will be adjusted to address your specific hearing loss situation after the correct fit is obtained.
Your hearing aid should also make automated adjustments, which will allow you to hear background noises in a variety of environments without interference. This might require a few visits to make sure you obtain the hearing aid that’s best for you and correct for your lifestyle. If you have significant hearing loss, the adjustments to your hearing aid will be completed in stages so that your brain has time to adjust to louder sounds.
Call us for an appointment if you think your hearing aid might need a tune-up.
References
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/symptoms-causes/syc-20373072
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing-aids#hearingaid_08