Ask Anna: My husband hates his hearing aids

Ask Anna is a weekly advice column for the hearing loss community. 

Dear Anna: My husband is a veteran and has hearing aids. When he first got his hearing aids he loved being able to hear with them, but recently I noticed he hasn’t been wearing them as often, especially when he’s around other people. I think he’s tired of having to explain his hearing loss to other people. I’m worried that he’ll stop going to our community events and become less social. Do you have any advice for encouraging him to use his hearing aids? – Worried Wife in South Carolina

Dear Worried Wife, 

I would first ask your husband why he isn’t wearing his hearing aids so much.  There could be many reasons why he isn’t wearing them so often, and if he loved how well he could hear at the start I would be surprised if the reason he doesn’t wear them is because he doesn’t want to explain his hearing loss.

It could be that the hearing aids get uncomfortable after wearing them for a few hours, or that he finds that noise isn’t handled so well when he wearing them in large social events making it harder to hear speech.

Whatever the reason, try and encourage him to go back to his audiologist and discuss any issues he has with the hearing aids and I am sure they will be able to help. He mustn’t feel like he would be wasting their time, they want to help people get the most benefit out of their hearing aids.

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• Author Details

Author Details

Anna Biggins

Anna is currently the Senior Audiology Manager at Phonak. She has worked in the field of audiology and hearing aids for 25 years, and is passionate about all things audiology.