Chewing with new hearing aids

I have new hearing aids and I am bothered by the sounds of my own chewing. If I am with someone else I have to stop chewing to hear them talk. Is this normal?

Anyone who eats a raw carrot knows that eating a carrot is very loud. What happens when you have hearing loss is that slowly over time the hearing gets worse and you don't hear normal sounds like chewing as loud as you used to. The chewing sounds are being damped from your hearing loss.

So when you get a properly fit hearing aid and it brings your hearing as close to normal as possible all of a sudden something like chewing raw vegetables or chips is now amplified fresh and loud. It is hard to remember how loud chewing used to be so when it is freshly amplified it can seem overwhelming.

I have normal hearing and I can't hear anyone talking to me while I am eating anything crunchy so how can someone with hearing aid(s) expect to do better than me? With this said hearing aids are not perfect so you want to make sure your audiologist or dispenser verifies the hearing aid responses with real ear or visible speech mapping so that some sounds are not too loud (making sure that chewing sounds are not being overly amplified).

Dr. Tia Flynn is a certified audiologist and has been in business for more than 10 years. Every Tuesday morning from 9 a.m. to noon, Dr. Flynn provides free hearing screenings at 1601 Third St. in Coeur d'Alene. Information: (208) 664-2767