It is true that a major reason for wearing hearing aids is to successfully communicate with others. However, our ears are not only for hearing conversation. As I sit quietly in my room, I notice that there are sounds around me that might alert me, like an oven timer or a sound that I might enjoy like birds singing outside. The longer I focus on listening, the more I hear. Some things I enjoy hearing, other things are just background sounds like trucks going past or airplanes flying overhead.
When a person loses their hearing slowly, they forget that our environment is rich with sounds. When you have hearing loss, your brain is not getting the right amount of stimulation in the speech processing center. You want to help your brain all the time, not just when other people are around. Even if you are alone, you may have the TV or radio turned on. The world is never silent and so there will always be something for your brain to be processing. Perhaps you had the faucet turned on and ran to answer the phone. If you had your hearing aids on, you might hear that the water is splashing over the sink onto the floor. Perhaps you get an unexpected visitor who wants to bring you food? Will you hear the knock at the door?
For most people, when they get hearing aids, the brain is shocked by the amount of commotion around them. They think that there is something wrong with that. They do not realize that people who hear normally must hear all those same sounds, they just adapt to those sounds being there after a while. Our brains are amazing at adaptation. You should wear your hearing aids all day, regardless of communication partner, so you can teach your brain that it needs to know what is going on around you. This helps your brain begin to process sound more efficiently. Think of it like passive exercise for your brain. We recommend that you wear your hearing aids all day. Most experienced hearing aid wearers average approximately 12 hours per day and miss them when they take them off.
