My Patient Is Planning To Start A Group Fitness Class Soon And Asked Me About Wearing Hearing Aids To The Gym. Is There Anything I Should Be Considering?

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Absolutely! Our studies showed that many adults find hearing aids helpful to hear their classmates and the fitness instructor, but worry about moisture damage and hearing aids falling out. Just like eyeglasses, hearing aids have accessories like retention straps and clips that are usually used with pediatric hearing aid users. We studied how informational counselling about how hearing aids now offer moisture resistance and how offering hearing aid retention options might help. Some of our participants liked to use hearing aid retention accessories, including the concha bowl retention locks that come with most receivers in the canal and slim-tube hearing aids and retention straps that you can clip on your shirt. Also, using hearing aid sleeve was helpful with reducing wind noise during outside activities like playing golf and hearing the scraping of the eyeglasses with the hearing aids. We found it helpful for adults to try different options and choose accessories based on preferences and needs. Here are some examples of these accessories that your patient could try to help them use hearing aids during fitness activities.

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About the author

Mohamed Rahme, PhD Candidate

Mohamed Rahme is a doctoral candidate in the Health and Rehabilitation Sciences program at Western University, where he is completing studies in Audiology and Hearing Science. He also teaches classes in hearing assessment in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorder. His focus is the interaction between physical activity and hearing loss, which has led him to complete studies on hearing accessibility for exercisers at the gym.