With mask use still very common, people with a hearing loss struggle to cope and adjust to their current social status. They can present unique problems that were not otherwise thought of until March 2020.
Now having dealt with it since then, I would like to offer my opinion on how to move forward. This Talk Radio segment will deal with using your hearing aids in a world full of masks.
Prefer to read rather than listen? Below is the transcript for you!
Masks Make Hearing Harder For Everyone
At this point, we have all probably noticed that wearing a mask can really muffle a person’s voice and speech. Even if your hearing is operating at peak performance, a mask forces your ears to work a little harder to get the same results.
People are starting to realize how much they rely on lip-reading to understand someone. People who don’t wear hearing aids normally have been given a small taste of just how debilitating hearing loss can be.
If your hearing is healthy, you still use lip reading to decipher different sounds. This helps your brain piece everything together so you can understand fully.
Covering facial expressions is also another detrimental factor that contributes to misunderstanding and frustration. No longer can people just smile and nod.
Muting Speech Is The Biggest Caveat With Masks
In general, everyone is experiencing this, and it’s putting extra strain on all of our hearing. By covering your mouth with a tight piece of material, there is no way for it not to muffle sound and create a bit of mumbling. The problem is magnified in people with hearing loss.
The mumbling effect is hard to deal with and can be very discouraging for a person with a hearing loss. Hearing aids have the capacity to cure this situation once you have the proper settings in place.
Hearing Aid Technology
Thankfully, the technology in hearing aids has come a long way, and we can take advantage of this advancement over the past 18 months. We can program hearing aids to suit your changing environments better.
If you are working in a quiet office made even quieter by everyone wearing masks, we can change the hearing aid settings to accommodate this. And many other scenarios.
Different apps and features can be used to give your hearing aids a little boost to suit your environment perfectly. We are not making any huge changes here since we hope to return to a world of no masks soon. So, we don’t want your ears and brain to be conditioned to this new and quieter world.
We Are Still Looking Out For Our Patients’ Safety
Despite the easing of restrictions, we remain diligent to our patients’ needs and expectations.
Our telehealth program has received excellent reviews and is perfect for those who just have a few questions and do not feel comfortable coming into one of our offices.
With certain hearing aids, we can make adjustments remotely as well. After getting all the information about your situation, we can access your hearing aids and update programs or download apps that would improve your hearing without having to make a trip to our office.
We are still offering curbside care for those who may just want to drop off their hearing aids for a cleaning.
I think we have all realized just how important hearing is to our everyday lives and how difficult it could be if you have some form of hearing loss.
We are constantly adapting our practice to serve our patients and the surrounding communities. If you have any symptoms of hearing loss, we encourage you to schedule an appointment right away so we can lend a helping hand.
