A hearing aid fitting is an important step in your hearing care journey. After you have had your hearing tested and selected hearing aids, your audiologist will ask you to come in to have your devices fitted.
A portion of this appointment will be spent ensuring your hearing aids can be worn comfortably in your ears, but a hearing aid fitting is much more than simply determining the comfort of hearing aids.
It is a diagnostic process to match your devices to your hearing loss prescription and ensure you get the most out of your hearing aids. Most importantly, professional hearing aid fitting is the best way to improve the outcomes of hearing aids.
There a several steps to better hearing health, and each one is crucial to contributing to success with hearing aids.
Your first appointment will include a
comprehensive hearing test and a consultation with an audiologist. We aim to understand the details of your hearing and your lifestyle, so we can make recommendations to suit your specific needs.
At Professional Audiology, we always discuss the benefits, challenges and costs that are associated with every hearing aid option. We want you to have all the information you need to be confident in your decision.
Once you have chosen your hearing aids, we will schedule your hearing aid fitting, but your journey doesn’t end there.
We will follow up with you within a month of your fitting to discuss any challenges, changes or benefits you are experiencing with your new devices and make any necessary adjustments.
Finally, as you settle into life with your hearing aids, we provide ongoing maintenance and adjustments to ensure they continue to provide the benefits you have come to rely on.
The goal of a professional hearing aid fitting is to match your new devices with your hearing loss prescription.
Hearing aids arrive at our office with factory default settings. Prior to the fitting, our hearing aid specialists set up the devices according to your hearing profile. The data from your hearing test will be used to optimize the volume, noise reduction, intensity level and maximum power output of your hearing aids while ensuring they will be comfortable for you to wear.
The hearing aids are then tested to confirm the output matches the settings – in other words, to make sure they are functioning correctly.
It can take an hour or longer to complete the initial hearing aid fitting. During the appointment, the devices are placed in the ears and checked for fit and comfort. Your hearings aids are then tested while in your ears through a process called “real-ear measurements” to confirm the output is as expected.
During real ear measurements, a receiver is placed in the ear (between the hearing aid and eardrum) to measure the output within the ear. This confirms the output of the hearing aids in realistic settings.
The results are then evaluated, and your hearing aids are adjusted as needed.
Your hearing aid fitting is also a chance to show you how to operate and maintain your hearing aids, and we will answer your questions and prepare you for any potential changes in your daily routine.
This extra step doesn’t happen at every hearing clinic. The initial settings are often assumed to be correct and accurate.
In reality, the output can be very different than expected. Just like your hearing profile, your ears are unique and physiological variations can affect how sound travels through the ear.
This is why real ear measurements are so beneficial to maximizing your devices for your hearing needs. Testing your hearing aids while you are wearing them ensures they are functioning properly and are accurately programmed to match your hearing profile.
Beyond that, real-ear measurements confirm your devices are operating as expected under “real-world” conditions, such as gauging how well you discern speech and follow conversations while wearing them.
The series of measurements and adjustments will help you understand the difference your hearing aids can make in your daily life, and you can feel confident that they will work for you.
Your clinician will monitor the results of these measurements and compare them to your hearing goals to ensure you will have the greatest success possible with your devices.
The process of a hearing aid fitting may sound unfamiliar to many hearing aid wearers. That is because not every hearing clinic goes through all the steps that we do.
Without a professional hearing aid fitting (that includes a real ear measurement), you may not have all the information you need to get the most out of your devices.
If this is you,
book an appointment. We can properly fit your current hearing aids and improve your outcomes with your devices.
You need your hearings aids to work properly, and a professional hearing aid fitting ensures they will be optimized for your hearing health.
Visit Professional Audiology Clinic at our central Edmonton or Sherwood Park locations!
Edmonton - Hys Centre
11010-101 Street NW, Unit #107
Sherwood Park – Emerald Hills Office Tower
8005 Emerald Drive, Unit #827 (second floor)
Evening appointments available.