Over the past year, we’ve seen many changes in our daily lives.
While we are coming out the worst of it, we will no doubt be living with the aftermath of COVID-19 for the foreseeable future, meaning face masks and face coverings are here to stay.
As someone who has worn hearing aids my whole life, I understand the challenges and struggles you face. Trying to position your face mask to comfortably sit on top of your ears can be difficult and it’s easy for them to dislodge and fall out.
You know how important your hearing aids are to your everyday communication – and with them being such delicate pieces of technology – it can be extremely upsetting when your device gets lost or broken.
In some cases, you might not even notice it’s fallen out!
With this in mind, we’ve put together our top tips for how to wear a face mask while wearing your hearing aids.
Aim Hearing and Audiology’s Top Tips
After wearing hearing aids for many years, the most important advice I can give you is to take your time when you are getting ready and try not to rush it.
When I sit down to put my face mask on, I’ll quickly check my ears to ensure that my hearing aids are secured in place.
Next, I slip on my face mask and do a double check to see if they are still secured in place.
After running your errands or going to the supermarket, it can be easy to tug the mask off, snatching at your hearing aid. While we are all desperate to take our masks off as soon as possible, you must be careful when removing your face mask and try to take it off when you’re in a stable environment such as your car.
If it does happen to fall out, you will have a much smaller area to locate it and it will be a lot easier to find.
Hearing Aid Masks
It’s important to note that we have lots of options available for face masks, with each one catering to any of your requirements. Many of my patients find them a lot more convenient than regular face masks, making their morning routine a lot smoother and stress free.
Some masks have wider bands, allowing you to stretch them over your ears. Others have two extra ties, giving you the option to tie with the adaptable strings to fit around your hearing aids.
There are also neck gaiters, which can be placed around your nose and mouth only
Another popular option is an adjustable clip, which can be positioned at the back of the head, where the two bands come together.
This allows you to adjust the strings so they don’t go over your ears but can be placed at the bottom of your head, making it a tightly secured option that doesn’t brush against your ears. These are available upon request.
Experience that counts
The likelihood is that we will all be living with the effects of COVID-19 for the foreseeable future. You must take the appropriate measures to ensure that your hearing aids are secured safely in place and are not likely to fall out.
That way, you can continue to live the life you love without being held back.
If you or a loved one is an existing hearing aid user and is having difficulty wearing a face mask, then do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of our team at (336) 295-1064.
