What Should Hearing Aid Users Expect?

When wearing hearing aids:

• Your hearing in quiet environments (one on one communication, watching TV, etc) should be improved
• Your hearing in light background noise should be improved.
• Your hearing in background noise is not going to be as good as your hearing in quiet.
• Your hearing in moderate to strong background noise should be no worse than without your hearing aids.
• Soft speech should be audible, average speech should be comfortable, and loud speech should be loud but never uncomfortable.
• Your hearing aids or earmolds should be comfortable
• There should be no feedback when the hearing aids are properly seated in your ears.
• You may hear sounds you have not heard for a while (like footsteps or the refrigerator humming). This is not abnormal.
• Be patient. It requires time to adjust to hearing aids. Your listening skills should improve gradually as you become accustomed to amplification.
• Hearing aids WILL NOT restore you hearing capabilities to "normal" or to preexisting levels.