When purchasing hearing aids, you should expect:

1. Your audiologist to assess your hearing difficulties in different environments
2. To be offered a thirty-day trial period
3. Hearing aids to cost more than you think they should cost
4. An initial orientation session in which you will learn how to handle and care for your new hearing aids
5. A period of adjustment
6. Your voice to sound different to you
7. A good and comfortable fit
8. Multiple follow-up appointments
9. To be able to hear well, but not perfectly, in quiet listening situations and most small group settings
10. To have some difficulty hearing in noisy situations
11. Your hearing aids to squeal/ whistle in some circumstances
12. Repairs
13. To buy batteries
14. To purchase new hearing aids every five years
15. To enjoy the sounds of life again

The hearing-impaired individual must accept that hearing loss has detrimental effects on interpersonal relationships and safety. A person’s motivation to hear well is the single most important factor in determining the success of the hearing aid fitting. It is important to realize that you will not experience the exact same benefits from your hearing aids as your neighbor does. Your hearing loss is unique to you, and so is its correction.

The article’s title implies there are reasonable expectations for the consumer. Therefore, there must also be “unreasonable expectations.” For the most part, there is only one totally unreasonable expectation— that hearing aids will restore perfect hearing.

Realistic Expectations: Part 2