There can be several reasons why you still experience unclear hearing even when wearing hearing aids. Here are some possible causes:
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Improper adjustment: Hearing aids need to be properly adjusted and customized to meet the individual’s hearing needs. If the amplified sound is not loud enough, it may not provide the best hearing improvement.
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Background noise: In noisy environments, even people with normal hearing can have difficulty understanding speech when sounds are masked by noise. In such cases, hearing aids with advanced directional microphones and noise reduction features can help.
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Poor speech discrimination: This means you can hear sounds but cannot clearly understand or distinguish the meaning. Hearing aids amplify sound so you can hear, but the brain processes and interprets the meaning. For people with long-term hearing loss, the brain may lose some speech processing ability due to prolonged silence. After using hearing aids, hearing may improve but clarity might still be a challenge. However, the brain is adaptable, and with regular hearing aid use, daily communication, and auditory training, speech clarity usually improves over time.
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Adjustment period: It takes time to get used to new hearing aids because the auditory system needs to adapt to the new way of hearing input. Patience and practice are required to become accustomed to hearing aids initially. This adjustment process is part of progressive hearing aid use.