People who are new at using hearing aids often have a common question regarding whether they need to wear their hearing aids every single day. Sometimes, new users of hearing aids often confuse them with wearing glasses, which are sometimes worn optionally in only certain circumstances, such as for reading. Hearing aids, however, are completely different in their functionality and thus need to be worn more often.
Every individual is different, and every change in life also has a different adjustment period for different people. Depending on the severity of your hearing loss, mental preparation, and remaining hearing abilities, your adjustment period will vary. This is why it is important to wear your hearing aids daily so that your ears can get used to hearing your new world of sound.
Hearing aids amplify sound differently from your ears, which is why the sounds coming from the hearing aids may seem unfamiliar, including the sound of your own voice. This is why it is important to give yourself the time you need to get accustomed to your new sense of hearing by wearing your hearing aids as often as possible. Start off slow, wearing them for a few hours each day, then proceed to wearing them for several hours, and then the entire day, for every single day.
The reason why it is recommended that you wear your hearing aids each day is that your brain grows accustomed to whatever you subject it to. If you have hearing loss, your brain gets accustomed to not getting any sound signals from the ears, which causes it to reprogram the dormant cells for other use. Once you get hearing aids, you can begin to rewire your brain once more so that it can begin to reactivate the cells that were assigned for hearing.
The term given to the brain’s miraculous ability to reprogram dormant cells for other use is known as neuroplasticity. This ability tends to change based on the sensory stimuli available from the surroundings, as picked up by the senses. Hearing aids will be able to rejuvenate your sense of hearing and prevent neuroplasticity from assigning the cells responsible for hearing to other tasks. If your hearing cells are reassigned, you may slowly begin to lose your ability to understand speech and your ability to communicate effectively. You may even begin to lose out on some of your working memory, which over time, may lead to dementia. This is why it is so important for you to wear your hearing aids regularly, to prevent this from happening.
After you get your new hearing aids, be patient with yourself and give yourself the time you need to adjust to the sounds coming through their amplification. You may feel uncomfortable for the first few days, but with time you will grow to enjoy the sounds you were previously unable to hear. You will also be helping your brain out a lot by giving it time to adjust with your new hearing abilities as well. Change is never easy, but with hearing aids, it can be great fun to rediscover your world of sound which now has so many new sounds included in it.