What was your biggest problem after your hearing aids were first fitted?

Was it your own voice, background noise, comfort, Bluetooth, wax filters, or just feeling like they weren’t helping enough?

Drop it below,  I’ll use your answers to shape future videos.

The first thing that struck me while driving home with my new hearing aids was the tick tick of my turn signals. I'd never heard them before.

I live alone, and was doing exactly what you said not to do…only putting them in when I went somewhere, or someone came over. Your logic makes sense. Gonna now put them in every morning!

On days when I know I am going to be alone, I sometimes leave them out to give my ears a little break.  Sometimes my ears get sore, and I just have to give them a rest.

EATING!

It sounds like I'm standing in the middle of a giant herd of munching buffalo.

After many many visits to my Audiologist here in Germany it gradually became clear that hearing aids are just that - aids. They can never replace your hearing but can help with filing those gaping holes in your ear's response to certain frequency deficiencies. The more channels available, the closer it becomes to being able to amplify those frequenciy deficiencies, faithfully. BUT, because the aids are simply aids, there are usually a number of features available that will help in demanding situations such as, trying to carry on a conversation with somebody in a noisy environment, listening to music from a HiFi system or in the concert hall, or using a bluetooth connection to the TV to be able to understand dialogue.

Don't leave the audiology office without knowing how to clean the aids and how to change domes so they're attached firmly. If you can't remember these things, take notes and insist on being shown hands-on.

The sound of my clothing bugged me so much. My arms rubbing against the side of my coat. My philosophy was if I was awake then my HA's were in. Three or four weeks in and they were so much better once my brain was able to filter out the sounds that were as important.

I got my hearing aids 16 months ago because I was having difficulty hearing dialogue on TV. What an instant improvement. I was able to turn the TV volume down to a comfortable level for my poor partner. However, I also play guitar and it sounded so tinny when I was wearing my aids. The audiologist explained that it would take a few weeks for my brain to retrain. He was right though it took at least 8 weeks to teach my 72 year old brain the new trick. From the beginning I decided to try wearing my aids for 10 hours daily. In practice it's always more than that. I put them in when I get up in the morning and remove them before bed... oh and in the shower, the barber and dentist. I can't see the point in getting hearing aids and then not using them. I've subscribed to your channel.

I'm so glad I stumbled across your channel!

I've had my hearing aids 2yrs and never had a follow up visit, that's the N.H.S FOR YOU......

Wow. Some very good information here. Thank you for the video.

I’ve been trialling Phonak I sphere 90s for weeks. Hopeless. Watching Matthew’s (and others) YouTube’s I’ve realised that my lovely audiologist is old school and fine tuning by guesswork is ineffective. I’ve parted company and start trialling with a different audiologist who a) tunes with REM and b) always uses custom moulds after the initial stages. I go forward with optimism.

This is a problem with OTC hearings aids, no one to help you through the initial process. I'm glad I watched this though. My complaint is high tones are too sharp. I finally figured out to turn the volume down and that improved. There were a couple of days when they absolutely irritated me and I skipped a day. Been wearing them every day (except the one) for 2-3 hours and in different environments. It's nice to order through the drive-thru and actually hear what they're saying. Just about jumped out of my skin the first time my kitchen timer went off. lol Thanks!

Another fantastic video

Wow this was all really useful information thank you

Speech was still difficult to understand!

I'm pretty new to HA's (about 6 weeks in) but happily I'm doing pretty good on your 5 points.  One comment surprised me -- the shower sounding too loud or water in the ear.  I'm leery of getting them wet so I don't put 'em in til after my shower (then wear them all day).  I also don't wear them to the barber shop, thinking that thin wire might get nicked!

I have single sided deafness. Five years ago I did a trial of the Phonak  Paradise PR90 Cross with the Cross 90 in the deaf ear. I had hoped to hear someone talking to me in a noisy restaurant. I was under the impression (illusion) that the electronics in the Phonak would know who was talking to me and focus on that person. No such thing. After I returned the hearing aids, I found out that I would have needed to purchase a separate microphone which would have to be put in front of the speaker. I'm convinced that Bi-Cross hearing aids are a waste of money.

I love your presentation style, you make me laugh whilst still giving important info. You appear to be so ........approachable, empathetic, and kind so thanks for making a relatively new HA user feel better about this whole change in life. 😊
Whilst wearing my aids I can hear myself breathing and talking (it's a bit disconcerting at times) - my family say that nothing has changed in my vocal delivery and that I'm still whispering....I can't hear how loud I am so I try to speak  at the volume I'm hearing myself.
It's gone from 'Mum you need hearing aids!" to "Mum are you wearing your hearing aids, youre still whispering!
With the new aids I'm able to use different settings which is great however most sounds have sharp edges like paper being crinkled....even our bed sheets sound like they've been starched 😂
The aids themselves are completely different from my first set with a different provider, they were so uncomfortable and sat unevenly in each ear that I after 5 attempts to get it right I gave up and after two years I tried again with a different provider. My new HA's are Phonak in-ear, rechargeable and black (just love the colour) Virto l30-R, and I love them.
My audiologist is great and always ready to help tweak the settings, we still haven't got it quite right but we're getting there.
I appreciate your advice regarding the brain and audio input, when I received these aids I was reluctant to use them if I was home alone or just out with my husband. However, after lots of reading and educating myself I realised how important it is for my brain health to wear them every day.
My husband has just been fitted with HA's and it's great to be able to help him adjust to them - he's doing so much better than I did 😂
I have quite severe tinnitus and Menieres syndrome and am really hoping these HA's may help to lessen the impact (especially the tinnitus).

I have to pivot a little here; you look pretty fine considering the new baby but seriously how does your queen look? 🤣

Thank you for listening to my blurb

Kind regards

Tracey