How to convince hard of hearing family members to wear their hearing aids

1. 77

   LowellWriterposted 15 years ago

   How to convince hard of hearing family members to wear their hearing aids

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2. 41

   dermajuvposted 14 years ago

   Think outside of the box. Make them want to hear better. Maybe telling their loved ones to not speak loud, or maybe their most loved grandson, usually they don't refuse children.
   
   As long, as you want them to do something, it will be hard, but if you manage to make them want something, you are a winner.

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3. 57

   pauleuroposted 14 years ago

   Find out WHY they are not wearing them.
   
   - Perhaps they are uncomfortable
   - Perhaps they are poorly adjusted and therefore not working well
   
   A visit to the hearing aid dispenser can resolve problems with the hearing aids.

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4. 73

   TaxNerdposted 13 years ago

   As someone who has worn hearing aids for 35 years (I started when I was 5), I get this question a lot.
   
   Most people, especially those who are older, resist wearing hearing aids for one of two reasons:
   
   1) Vanity or stigma
   2) Comfort
   
   Even though Gallaudet University says up to 14 percent of Americans have some form of hearing loss (i.e., it's common), there's still a stigma. Personally, I'm over it, but then again i've been wearing them all my life and have gained a considerable amount of personal confidence in wearing them. New wearers are almost never like this. They need to be coaxed. You can tell them:
   
   1) Get over it. This is the 21st Century. They're little pieces of plastic that fit in your ears, not an ear trumpet.
   2)  Look into a customized cases now (for an over-the-ear model). They used to always match aids to skin tone. They now come in all sorts of neon colors for the explicit purpose of getting wearers to embrace them an show them off.
   3) If you're worried that it will make you look old, guess what: YOU ARE OLD.
   
   Ok, those aren't the most sensitive answers. But, really, you need to find a way to get them over the stigma. Make it a joke if it suits their temperament. You can also play the guilt card: Their decision affects others around them, not just themselves. Or appeal to the original reason for getting them: Why continue to toil in frustration and loneliness just because you feel self-conscious?
   
   Comfort is another issue. They may hate the sound or the ear mold may be uncomfortable in the ear canal. The only way around these things are time and adjustments. The ear mold sensitivity should go away in a couple of days, but it will flare again if you only wear the aids occasionally. Adjusting for sound requires consultation with your audiologist. It may also require some mental discipline on the wearer's part. It can take the brain weeks, sometimes months, to fully adjust to processing sounds it hasn't heard in years or sometimes in forever.
   
   Hope this helps. For more information from my perspective, see my new hub: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Choose-t … ong-Wearer

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