With an audiologist from Evergreen Audiology Clinic, you’ll always be in capable hands. Once you’ve had your hearing testing completed, you’ll work with our team to find the perfect solution to address your hearing needs. However, hearing aids are as unique as your case of hearing loss is, which means we’ll need to customize the device to your specific level of loss and preferences. The fitting and programming appointment is a good way to measure the accuracy of the initial hearing results. After the hearing aid settings are finalized, a new world of sound will open up.
What Can You Expect?
During the fitting appointment, you’ll learn all about your new devices. This commonly includes your audiologist instructing you on the proper ways to insert and remove your hearing aids, as well as what care routine you should follow to keep your devices in optimal shape. You will also learn about any of the different settings and features and how you can best utilize them in your day-to-day life.
The Fitting Process
This appointment is the final step to wearing brand new hearing aids for the first time. Prescription hearing aids are programmed specifically to work with an individual’s ears. Everything from the software, fit and even features are designed specifically for your treatment plan. Before everything gets underway, your audiologist will ask a few questions. A major part of the appointment is making sure that you’re comfortable with the fit and features. If you have any concerns or issues with the fit or features of your devices don’t hesitate to express them; your audiologist is here to ensure you get the most out of your hearing aids! But before you can fully utilize the power of your hearing aids, a few tests are performed for accuracy.
Live Speech Mapping
Real-ear measurements are a test to measure how the hearing aid is performing when worn in the ear canal. Traditionally, this is done by measuring the sound pressure level for the correct amount of amplification. Through the use of a silicone probe and microphone, this has been the ideal choice for getting the job done.
Live speech mapping is an improvement on this technology that lets the audiologist see what you are hearing in real-time. This not only speeds up the process, but it makes it much easier to program optimized settings for the device. It is simply the best way to get a rounded experience with a modern hearing aid. Advanced features of the technology include the use of real speech stimuli to test how the patient perceives new and familiar sounds.
Getting Accustomed to New Sounds
Over the next few days, you may feel overwhelmed with some of the sounds you aren’t used to hearing. This is completely normal and everyone will have a different first-time experience when wearing hearing aids. After a small adjustment period, those low-level sounds will begin to feel natural again. This is the moment when everything makes sense for a hearing device wearer. We’ll schedule a follow-up appointment with you to ensure you are adjusting to your devices and they are serving you as fully as expected!