8 Things You Need To Know About Hearing Aids
I’ve been wearing my hi-tech Siemens Insio 5Mi IIC aka my bionic ears for one month now and here’s what I learnt: 
1. They are really invisible – tucked deep into my ear canals, all my friends did not notice them until I told them, and they had to peer hard into my ears to see them.
Grease The Musical
2. Give time for your ears to adjust slowly. Almost immediately after I started wearing my hearing aids, I attended Grease The Musical and had to remove them at some parts as the music became too jarring. Apparently, this was not due to the hearing aids but because my ears had not been hearing clear and loud sounds for too long and needed more time to acclimatize. Three weeks later, when I attended Rise & Fall Of Little Voice, I was able to wear my hearing aids comfortably throughout the musical.
Rise & Fall Of Little Voice
3. Invest in the best you can. Siemens is one of the best (if not the best) in the hearing aids market, and the model I bought is the most expensive model, within my means. However, I consider my money well-spent as they are supremely comfortable – I was able to do yoga with them, listen to music with my ear phones, and at times, I even forgot I was wearing them! They also came with a fancy remote that allows me to cancel background noise, and increase or decrease volume.
Comfort even when working out
4. Listening and keeping up with conversations is now a breeze. My friends say that I don’t “hargh?” them anymore and sometimes I even hear much better than them!
No more “hargh?” in group outings
5. You don’t have to wear them all the time. True, I could have worn them all day with ease and comfort but I regard my hearing aids like reading glasses and only put them on when I am going out with friends or going for work meetings…or when I want to unleash my super hearing powers!
6. It’s kinda cool to be able to mute sounds sometimes. At times, I feel glad that I can take out my hearing aids anytime I want – for example, when a kid is crying nearby or in a particularly noisy environment. This is something those with normal hearing cannot do!
7. Taking care of my hearing aids is actually a breeze. When Ronald, the Lead Consultant at Clariti (where I bought my hearing aids), first showed me how I had to brush, clean and store them, I stifled a groan because it brought back days of cleaning my contact lenses pre-Lasik. However, after doing them for a month, it is really easy and waaay faster than cleaning contacts.
The man who helped me hear better.
8. Like I have said in my first blog post, it’s important that you find someone experienced who can attend to your needs consistently in the longer term. There are many hearing centres that depend on employees to attend to patients. It can be very frustrating to see a different consultant each time you go back for a review. I just went to see Ronald for a review today and he listened to my feedback and fine tuned my hearing aids to account for my acclimatized hearing. My hearing aids were then reprogrammed for an experienced user and I am now able to hear sounds in a clearer and more natural way than before.
Contact: Clariti – Hearing Care Professionals
176 Orchard Road #03-14
Singapore 238843
Tel: 6733-1011
Website: www.claritihearing.com
