Healthy Habits

By: Dr. Dawn MacMillan,
Audiologist

Imagine this. You make the decision to eat better and lose a few pounds. You go to the grocery store and buy a cart full of fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. You arrive home from the grocery store, put all the food away. You are ready to take control of your waistline!
But the next time you go into the kitchen for a snack, you pick up a sugary, pre-packaged snack made by a lady named Debby.
You repeat this over the next week, eating lunches out when friends ask, foamy coffee drinks when the late afternoon slump hits. You step on the scale and are shocked! What?!? You didn’t lose a single pound!

Are you really shocked? Of course not! The fruits and veggies you bought are moldy and furry! You bought the food but didn’t get in the habit of eating it.

Hearing aids are no different. You can have the test, buy the aids, have them professionally fit and that fitting verified but if that’s all you do when you leave their office, the hearing aids won’t help you.

You have to wear them as prescribed. Every day during your waking hours. Keeping them clean and free of moisture, dirt, and wax. You must change the batteries as needed or use the charger. Hearing aids aren’t maintenance free and you won’t hear better if they’re sitting in the box.

"I wear them when I go to church!"
"I wear them when my daughter comes over."
"I wear them when I go to the doctor."

When that is the only time they are worn, the statement that usually follows the above is "But I’m still not hearing well." You won’t. If you aren’t regularly wearing your hearing aids as prescribed, your brain never learns to hear the new amplified and clarified sounds. The neural pathways that need mapping when you lose your hearing and subsequently seek treatment never get used. The result is sounds that never quite sound the way you think they should. Simply put, the brain does the processing of the sound that comes into the ears. The brain is responsible for taking the signal and deciding what to do with it. When hearing aids are worn irregularly and sporadic at best, your success with them will be minimal at best.

Just like we wouldn’t expect to lose weight if we don’t eat the healthy food we bought, we cannot expect to hear better with the hearing aids we rarely (never?) wear.

If you or someone you know has hearing aids but isn’t getting the desired result, a return visit to your audiologist’s office is imperative! A no-holds-barred, completely transparent and honest conversation needs to happen in order for you to achieve success. Most modern digital hearing aids have a usage indicator. If you’re not wearing them, your Audiologist will be able to tell! You may as well ‘fess up and start again down the road to better hearing. It IS possible if you face the music and are realistic about your use of the devices and your willingness to wear them and retrain your brain to hear again.

The month of May is Better Hearing & Speech Month. Make this the month you commit to changing your habits and finding success with your aids.

We are waiting for you!




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