Introduction
Hearing impairment is more common than you think, with over 26 million Americans having difficulty hearing. And while many use hearing aids to restore their vital language, it remains unclear whether these devices can actually be beneficial for some people.
Hearing aids can help improve your day-to-day life significantly, but they also have a dark side that you should know about before making any decisions. This quick article looks at the good and bad of older hearing aids and covers how you might find peace in the process.
In the past few years, it has been reported that those who use hearing aids have been suffering from a condition known as Receptive Auditory Processing Disorder. In order to better understand how this disorder works, we must first learn about the natural functions of the ear. The ear is comprised of three different divisions: The outer, middle and inner. The outer and inner ears work together to collect sound vibrations – otherwise known as auditory input – and send them to the brain for interpretation. When we hear, our auditory nerve responds by sending information back to our brain (the Central Nervous System). This information is then processed and understood to make sense of what was heard; this process is known as audition or hearing.
Can Hearing Aids Make Your Hearing Worse?
Although hearing aids work in much the same way as the natural ear, they come with a lot of noise and interference. This can lead to a condition called “Dynamic Range Compression.” The Dynamic Range Compression occurs when two sounds are heard that are within the same frequency range (similar in tone or pitch), but the listener’s central auditory threshold is too high when listening to one sound, their degree of attention to hear another sound becomes diminished. This is where it gets complicated because multiple levels of this hearing loss can result from two different noises that are within the same frequency range. This “Compression” is on account of the hearing aid.
In addition to this unusual hearing loss, all hearing aids will also magnify background noise and sound, which can result in a condition called “Sympathetic Resonance”. As the hearing aid wearer hears something louder or softer within their frequency range, it triggers a sympathetic response within the ear and amplifies it. Because of this sympathetic response, even faint sounds are amplified.
This amplification of background noise such as talking and traffic noise can be a problem for many hearing aid wearers. Turning up your volume could potentially cause damage to your ears and brain, while others may find the amplified sound irritatingly loud.
This problem is often overlooked until it is too late to fix and can lead to further hearing impairment and social isolation.
There are, however, solutions out there that can help you cope with this issue.
Some hearing aid manufacturers have designed their technology in such a way that the “Dynamic Range Compression” is reduced or eliminated. These devices work by splitting up the frequencies so as to avoid overlap between them. Another thing you can do to fix this issue involves adjusting your settings on your hearing aids – usually, you would get a professional to do this for you, but it’s not impossible for those who are tech-savvy enough.
The best way to avoid these issues is not to use hearing aids if they’re too intrusive and cause you discomfort. You can also find hearing aids that are better suited for your needs, such as a custom-designed device or a device that’s only meant for patients who need higher sound amplification. After all, it’s all about being in control and having control of your own sounds.
Tips On Improving Hearing Aids
1. Choosing The Right Speech Sounds
When you have an idea of where the sound originates and in which direction it is located, you can more easily focus and localize the sound. In general, people who are having trouble hearing should learn to listen for higher frequency sounds. This may mean asking those around you to speak more clearly and slowing down their speech. Younger patients should try to listen for a better understanding of high-frequency consonants (such as “s” and “f”) in their native language, which may be easier than trying to understand higher frequency vowels in another language.
2. Pay Attention
If you don’t want to spend a considerable sum of money on hearing aids, it is probably in your best interests to invest in something that can help you improve your listening capabilities. Listening training is an excellent way to get started, and it will not only help you learn how to better focus while listening to sounds but also how to improve your understanding of speech.
3. Practice On The Crib
The older generation will be able to recall their childhood experiences with this practice and will even enjoy the time spent doing so. Have a friend or family member read a book for you or one of their favorite children’s stories, then listen for the words as they are being read so that you know what they sound like.
4. Adjust Your Environment
The ear can become accustomed to sounds and not hear them correctly, especially if the sounds have been around for a long period of time. It is important to vary your environment so that you may notice what sounds are missing or overlapping at times.
5. Try To Relate To Others
Speech can be made to sound clearer simply by relating what others are saying to your own experiences. By making an association with a similar experience, you will be better able to understand what they are saying and relate to it accordingly. For example, if someone describes how their favorite sports team played well in their game last night, an audiophile might think about how their favorite sports team also had an excellent game the night before.
Conclusion
Hearing loss is a devastating and all-too-common condition. It’s important to find the right hearing aid for you in the first place, but it is also imperative that you take care of your ears once you do have hearing aids. If you listen to music, try pausing it when you’re around loud environments. If they are sudden, or loud noises occur frequently, then get yourself an earmuff or ear plugged. Also, keep your sound settings at the comfortable level possible; this will allow you to avoid blowing out your eardrums.