Can Headaches be Triggered by Hearing Aids?

A distraught senior man sitting on his couch suffering from a headache because his hearing aids were not properly adjusted.

Hearing aids are intended to help make up for your unique hearing loss condition. If your hearing aids are giving you headaches or any other kind of pain, whether you’ve been using them for years or you’re a new user, there’s a solution.

A correctly adjusted hearing aid will fit comfortably in your ear and give you the quality of amplification that meets your specific needs. If this isn’t the case, you should make certain you have the correct type of hearing aid and that it’s been precisely adjusted.

Your hearing aid needs to be adjusted if you experience any of these signs

Headaches can be the outcome of incorrectly adjusted hearing aids. Normally, inadequate adjustment or incorrect use is the reason. Here are a few issues that may occur if you’re having this issue:

  • Headaches and tinnitus. Hearing aids that are picking up loud sounds and further amplifying them can be painful to your ears and can lead to not only headaches but also tinnitus. Usually, this means the settings are too loud.
  • Inadequate sound quality. Improperly adjusted hearing aids can increase the volume of high intensity sound causing a loud irritating feedback that can harm your ears. And low intensity sound can get lost with hearing aids in this condition.
  • Feedback noise. Wind and other background noise can be picked up and boosted by your hearing aid, also generating screeching frustrating feedback.

Over-the-counter hearing aids

While over-the-counter hearing aids, commonly called personal sound amplification devices, are obtainable at your local drug store, and are less expensive than prescription hearing aids, they won’t be customized to meet your specific hearing loss requirements.

Hearing loss is unique to every individual so merely amplifying all sounds won’t be enough to improve your hearing. Often, specific wavelengths of sound are lost when someone loses their hearing. In order for a hearing aid help people hear clearly in different environments, they will need accurate adjustment.

Getting your hearing aid professionally adjusted

One of the most useful ways to ensure your hearing aid is properly fitted is to have your personalized hearing aid fitted and adjusted. Custom-fitted hearing aids will be designed just for you using molds of your ears. Once the ideal fit is obtained, we will need to adjust the hearing aid settings so you can differentiate unwanted noise and the sounds you want to hear.

You should also be capable of hearing sound in many different environments with automated adjustments made by your hearing aids. In order to make sure you get the right hearing aids for your personal needs, you might need to come in more than once. If you have severe hearing loss, the adjustments to your hearing aid will be completed in stages so that your brain has time to adapt to louder sounds.

If you believe you might be suffering from an out of tune hearing aid, call us today and schedule an appointment to get it assessed.

References

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/symptoms-causes/syc-20373072
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing-aids#hearingaid_08

The content of this blog is the intellectual property of MedPB.com and is reprinted here with permission. The site information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. To receive a hearing aid consultation, call today to schedule an appointment.