When you get hearing aids, it requires an adjustment period to get used to them. Unusual or different sounds, such as hissing, are sometimes reported by wearers. Let’s identify the three most common sources of hissing and how you can reduce these unusual sounds.
Hissing & Sounds in the Environment
If you are in a quiet place, you may hear a soft hissing sound in your hearing aids, due to the fact that your environment is never without some sound. With hearing loss, it’s easy to forget there is always noise in the surrounding environment. The world is a noisy place, so there is always some hint of sound. For instance, when hearing goes, the soft sounds go first, like the refrigerator running, the fan on the computer humming, or the air conditioning or furnace running. Once these sounds can be heard again, they may seem annoying at first.
But something can be done; a process called “IFF-it” can help:
- Identify what the sound is
- Find out from where it is coming
- Forget it
People with normal hearing are used to soft sounds, so they ignore them. Your brain will eventually adjust to such sounds until you are able to ignore them, too. Also, your hearing instrument specialist can adjust your hearing aid settings for you, so that the sounds are less bothersome.
The Hissing Sound May Be Feedback
You may be hearing feedback if you hear a hissing sound in your hearing aids when your mouth is moving or something gets close to your ear. A hearing aid fit adjustment may be needed or the feedback can be reduced with special features your hearing aids may have.
Hissing Sounds In Hearing Aids With Speech
When people are talking the hissing sound may actually be speech sounds, like the “s” sound, which may sound hissy at first because the brain forgets such a sound when there is hearing loss. With time, you will adjust.
Hearing & Understanding: The Difference
Your brain will adjust to what sounds like hissing. After all, you have hearing aids to hear the sounds you couldn’t hear before. These sounds are the difference between hearing and understanding.
One remedy is to read aloud to yourself so that you can see and hear each word, so your brain is given more information to connect sound to speech. Half an hour a day for two weeks should help reduce the hissing sound. With time, it does diminish.
Still Having With Hissing Sound in Your Ear?
If you are having any trouble with your hearing aids, contact your hearing instrument specialist at Pure Sound Hearing Aids.
