Winter is here! And today was particularly cold in the UK. Hats are a commonly used accessory that also serve the important purpose of keeping warm! They do of course also provide protection from the sun and rain as well as a way to express your own personal style.

However, while both hats and hearing aids serve important functions, they often conflict with each other! Most hearing devices are designed to be worn behind the ear and / or on the head and hats can interfere with this placement. For example, a hat with a tight band around the head can press against the hearing aid and cause discomfort or even damage the device.

One solution to this problem is to choose hats that are more accommodative to hearing aids. For example, a hat with a looser fit or a slouchy style can provide enough space for the hearing aid without interfering with its placement. Additionally, hats with a just a brim or visor can provide shade for the face without pressing against the hearing aid.

I have struggled to find hats to suit my personal needs in the past and have finally found a couple of styles which suit me and I can wear them comfortably. Firstly for me were trilbys. Whilst trilbys do have a fixed band, you can usually buy them in different sizes so I always size up. This leaves room for my hearing aids not to rub and to also be able to still pick up sound without muffling.

Secondly for me are knitted baker-boy style hats. They are woollen and I prefer them in the winter to keep warm. I also use them at the beach when it’s windy (wow, what a noise that is!) Again these hats can be bought in different sizes to prevent any rubbing at all – I usually check they either fit totally above / away from my hearing aids, or fit completely over. Unfortunately the latter means I lose some hearing through my hearing aids, but I am comfortable and warm at least while I’m out. I’d love to wear other woollen hats, but my experience is that they rub an awful lot and also muffle the sound more due to their snug fit. And cause whistling. And also cause that lovely rubbing sound of the mic against the hat!

So hats and hearing aids can sometimes conflict with each other, but there are solutions available. By choosing hats that are more accommodative to hearing aids and considering different styles, those who wear both can enjoy the benefits without too many issues. Looking forward to reading if our community members enjoy wearing hats.  Now if I could just find a baker-boy style santa hat! ….