Hearing Loss FAQ

Hi, I'm Denise Kopecki with Texan Renew Hearing Center. I'm a National Board Certified hearing specialist. Today I'm going to be answering some of your frequently asked questions that either get asked here around the office or when people call in to make an appointment. 

Q: How do I know if I have hearing loss?

A: Well, sometimes you don't. Sometimes you may be noticing that you can still hear things just fine but maybe not understand them. Sometimes it's a matter of you'll start noticing ringing or buzzing in your ears. There are times when you might have family members notice it before you do. When it comes to finding out if you have hearing loss, anyone over the age of 40 should have a base line hearing test done. If you have not had one and you have reached that age, or if it's been a year or more since your last test, give us a call.

Q: If I have hearing loss and get hearing aids, will they restore my ears to normal?

A: The answer to this is no. Just like when we wear glasses and the glasses help us to see better whenever we're wearing them, hearing aids help you by giving proper auditory focus to your brain while wearing them, but it's not regrowing and regenerating those nerves that have been damaged. 

Q: Why do I need two hearing aids?

A: Not everyone needs two hearing aids. If you have hearing loss or hearing difficulties in both ears, then it would be recommended to have hearing devices fit on each ear. Sound comes at us from all around, so by only amplifying sounds from one side and not the other can actually cause more issues. 

Q: Why does my voice sound funny when I'm wearing hearing devices?

A: The reason for that is sometimes we haven't been hearing ourselves or the things around us correctly for years. Sometimes when people first get hearing devices for amplification, they'll notice that they're louder than they thought. Others around us may have already been noticing this for some time. Sometimes we lose the regulator that lets us know if we're talking too loud or too soft whenever we have hearing impairment. There's a lot of retraining your brain what it's like to hear your own voice again. 

Q: How long will it take me to get used to wearing hearing devices?
A: The question we'd like to start with is, how long has it been since you've heard properly? When we're retraining the brain what it's like to understand sounds again, if it's been a shorter amount of time since you've experienced hearing loss then it may become more natural sooner than if it has been an extended amount of time. Similar to if you were to go to physical therapy after breaking your leg, they wouldn't have you running right away on day one. There are things we're able to do to acclimate the prescriptions on the hearing devices so that we're able to give some improvement and help without overwhelming the senses in your brain with all the sound that you've been missing out on.

Q: What style of hearing aids are best for me?
A: This question is a bit of a loaded question without knowing what type of hearing loss you have, what size ear canals you have, or if there are any allergies to materials that we need to be aware of. The style of hearing device is going to be dependent of a couple of things: how much hearing loss it is that we have, what shape and style of ears we have, and if there are any types of physical attributes we need to be aware of.

Q: I have a friend or family member who has had hearing devices and they don't wear them, say they bother them, or say they're too loud. How will it be different for me?

A: Unfortunately we do hear this one occasionally. Sometimes people's experiences that they have is drawing off of someone who wore devices 10, 15, or 20 years ago. Over the years we've had tremendous improvements in hearing devices. Something we've also learned is that hearing devices are very much like any other therapy. So, if we're only wearing devices in times we think we will have a hard time hearing such as restaurants, our brain won't know what to do with all of that sound and it can be very overwhelming. Part of the therapy process that we do here is actually acclimate the devices for you based on your lifestyle. 

If you have any other questions that you'd like us to answer, feel free to give us a call at 888-803-2321