If you’ve been wearing eyeglasses for years and just found out you also need hearing aids, you may be wondering what to expect, or if the combination of the two might be more trouble than it’s worth.
“A lot of patients who wear glasses but are new to hearing ads worry about their hearing aids fitting well with eyewear,” notes Maggie Robertson, AuD, of Davis Audiology in Greenville, S.C. “Once I try the hearing device on the patient along with their eyeglasses, most of their concerns are alleviated.”
Discomfort should not be a problem as long as your hearing devices and frames are a good fit together, she said. And if there are any issues-poor audio quality, pressure on the ears, skin irritation-your hearing care provider can usually find a solution.
Hearing aid wire’s can be adjusted, if needed: for example, all you may need is a slight change to how your hearing aids sit on your ears. Often, that’s by making length adjustments to the plastic tube known as a “receiver wire” that connects the speaker to the device.
“When we’re fitting someone for hearing aids, we always take into account not just the physical fit, but also the audiologic factors,” she says. “If a patient wears reading glasses, bifocals, or even sunglasses, we want to ensure the hearing device is a good fit. We consider whether they might do better with a BTE device, a smaller hearing aid, one that’s shaped slightly differently, or an in-the-ear (ITE) device.”
Sometimes, the best solution is finding different frames. “It really depends on how much space there is between the patient’s ears and head,” Robertson says. “If there isn’t a lot of space, a thinner frame may be more comfortable.” Eyeglasses that curve around the head, rather than over the ears, are a great option since they aren’t touching the hearing aid, she explains. In addition, eyeglass frames with thinner temples (arms) offer more room if you wear a BTE hearing aid and allow for additional comfort.