Strategies for Hearing in Background Noise with Hearing Aids

The #1 thing patients want is to hear better in background noise! We have come a long way over the years with this aspect of hearing with hearing aids. Are you getting the most out of your hearing aids in noise?

Listening With Hearing Aids is Different Than Hearing Without

Hearing aids don’t cure hearing loss they direct an amplified sound to your ear to make it easier to hear. These tips and tricks can help you hear better and be a better listener with background noise.

Background Noise

There are many occasions when background noises make it hard to hear what your trying to listen to. To benefit the most while in background noise and wearing hearing aids it is vital to use your hearing aids everyday. Don’t use them only for special occasions or when you go out. Wearing them at home allows your brain to adjust to environmental sounds. As your brain gets use to the many sounds around you, your understanding will get better in more difficult situations. When wearing your hearing aids all noises will be louder but your digital hearing aids will help with amplifying speech while compressing loud sounds. This will help bring the speech out of the noise with practice using your hearing aids. Background noises make it harder to have a conversation in restaurants, movies, or when playing games so being well adjusted to hearing with your hearing aids in easy situations helps you prepare for the more difficult times.

Practice Strategic Listening

Sometimes, it will be difficult to hear. Even without hearing aids, a person may find it difficult to listen in noisy places such as parties, meetings, and large groups. People with hearing aids have an advantage in some ways over people without in noise by having directional microphones that focus on the speaker, noise reduction and AntiShock for sudden loud sounds. Separating speech from background noise takes a lot of practice.

Using strategies like looking at the speaker when they are talking and watching their lips, gestures, and facial expressions will help fill in any words. It’s okay to ask someone to repeat what they said if you didn’t hear it the first time. Make sure to use the features in your hearing aids to your advantage. Directional microphones are designed help in background noise by reducing the noise from behind you. So to take advantage of this feature make sure you place yourself with as much noise to your back. This will put that noise in the null of your microphone. If you use an app to make adjustments to your hearing aids in noise it will help to zoom in your microphone and also increase your noise reduction. Another trick is stay close to the speaker (not necessarily the person talking this could be the box on the wall) especially in church and noise. Remember that with or without a hearing loss, we all have times when we cannot understand the speech.

If you don’t feel you are achieving the understand you desire in noise after using these strategies reach out to our office to check the function and settings in your hearing aids.