Throughout our day, we find ourselves in different environments with varying degrees of loudness and background noise. If you use hearing aids, it’s important to hear well no matter where you are.
Choosing Your Listening Environment
Though we often don’t get to choose our listening environments, during the times when you have some input, try to use it to your advantage. Some ways you can do that include:
- Choose locations with the fewest distractions and minimal background noise
- Pick smaller rooms over larger for meeting places when possible
- If you must be in a larger room, try to sit near the wall as it can help amplify the voice of the speaker
- Try sitting as close to the speaker as possible
- Find a space that is well-lit to help you see the speaker’s face. Visual cues like lip-reading can help improve your listening experience
Check for Telecoil
If you are attending an event in a larger auditorium or convention hall, check and see if the location has a hearing loop. Hearing loops use electromagnetic energy to transmit sound directly into your hearing aid using telecoil in the device as a receiver.
If your hearing aid includes a telecoil, you can turn it on and have sound from the microphone transmitted directly into your hearing aid.
How to Enjoy Conversations in Noisy Environments
Much of our time is spent in conversations with others. In a study observing the amount of time hearing aid users spent in different listening environments, researchers found that participants spent an average of 57% of their time in conversation.
While many conversations can occur in quiet environments, we often spend time with our friends and family in noisier environments as well. Whether you’re meeting up with friends to celebrate the start of the weekend or enjoying a family dinner out at Fire Works Pizza, you want to make sure can hear all that is being said without hearing loss getting in your way.
Hearing aids that include features such as directional microphones, wireless capabilities and noise reduction settings can make it easier to hear in these busier environments.
Consider What Hearing Aid Best Meets Your Needs
What hearing aids are best for you often depends on what your daily life looks like and what your interests are. Different models can make it easier to connect to technology or include settings that help you hear better outdoors or improve sound quality when you listen to music.
Talk with your audiologist about your wants and needs and consider an upgrade if your current device is more than a few years old and isn’t doing all you need it to.
For more information or to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists, contact ENT Specialists Of Northern Virginia today.