Can Hearing Aids Lead to Headaches?

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

Hearing aids are designed to help compensate for your unique hearing loss problem. If your hearing aids are giving you headaches or any other kind of discomfort, whether you’ve been using them for years or you’re a new user, there’s a solution.

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

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

Headaches can be the outcome of poorly adjusted hearing aids. The reason for this is that they are not being used properly, or haven’t been adjusted for a long time. Here are some issues that may occur if you’re dealing with this problem:

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

Over-the-counter hearing aids

Even though you can go to a local Pharmacy and get a less expensive personal amplification device (over the counter hearing aid), these devices won’t be programmed for your personal hearing loss requirements.

Hearing loss is unique to every individual so simply amplifying all sounds won’t be enough to help your hearing. There are lots of instances of hearing loss where individuals lose the ability to hear a specific frequency. In order for a hearing aid help people hear clearly in different settings, they will need precise adjustment.

Getting your hearing aid professionally adjusted

Having your hearing aid professionally adjusted is the best way to be certain that your device is correctly fitted. We will take molds of your ears and use them to fashion a custom-fitted hearing aid device just for you. Once the proper fit is obtained, it will be necessary to adjust the hearing aid settings so you can differentiate unwanted noise and the sounds you want to amplify.

Your hearing aid should also make automatic adjustments, which will let you hear background sounds in different environments without interference. This may require a few visits to make sure you get the hearing aid that’s best for you and in tune with your lifestyle. And with severe hearing loss, your brain will need to get used to hearing again in stages, so your hearing aid will have to be programmed in stages.

Call us for an appointment if you think your hearing aid might need a tune-up.

References

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

The site information is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Schedule an appointment to see if hearing aids could benefit you.