In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 7.1% of adults aged 45 and over used a hearing aid. If you’ve recently made a choice to become one of the millions to treat your hearing loss with hearing aids, congratulations! They are an excellent investment in your personal well-being and overall health.
Even though you feel good about your hearing aids, you may be unsure how to talk to others about them, as well as your hearing loss in general.
Mention Your Hearing Aids as Soon As You Feel Comfortable 
Though it’s not something you need to blurt out right away, letting people, especially new people in your life, know that you wear hearing aids or have hearing loss sooner rather than later is optimal. Even with hearing aids, there are likely environments where you don’t hear as well and mishear something or don’t know that someone is speaking to you.
By letting someone know you have hearing loss, it prevents them from interpreting you not hearing something they said as you ignoring them or being cold to them.
Let People Know How They Can Communicate Effectively with You
When you tell people about your hearing aids, you can also use that time to give them some helpful communication strategies so that you can converse more easily with each other. Try saying things like:
- Please make sure to get my attention before speaking to me, especially if we are in a crowd.
- I may need you to repeat things from time to time. Please be patient with me.
- Can you try rephrasing what you said?
- In loud places, I may need to read your lips for help understanding. Please make sure you’re facing me when we speak.
Bring Up Your Favorite Hearing Aid Features
One of the best ways to get comfortable talking about your hearing aids is to discuss the features you like most about them. Whether it’s the fact they make it easier to talk to your grandkids on the phone every day or that you can stream music directly into your hearing aids on your walks through Travis White Park, discussing your favorite parts about using hearing aids helps destigmatize the conversation for you and others.
To learn more or to schedule an appointment with one of our providers, call Tinnitus & Hearing Experts today.