If you’ve seen your audiologist for a hearing exam, then they may recommend that you need hearing aids. You should have another appointment or two where you decide what type of hearing aids you want, and then your audiologist takes molds of your ears ready to prepare your device.

After all of this, you’ll have a hearing aid fitting. This is an essential appointment as you get a lot of benefits out of it. Naturally, some people don’t know what happens during a hearing aid fitting at all so it can cause some anxiety. To help you out, here’s everything you can expect:

Audiologists conduct real ear measures

At your hearing aid fitting, your audiologist will carry out a test known as Real Ear Measures. The purpose of this is to measure the volume of sound in your ear canal. Doing this allows them to configure the hearing aids so they provide the perfect amount of amplification for you. All this consists of is a small test where a tube is pushed inside your ear. The volume of sound is measured using a microphone and then noted down.

After this, your hearing aid will be inserted while the tube is still in your ear and another measurement is taken. They want to ensure that there’s a clear volume difference, meaning you can hear things a lot better than before. But, they also ensure that your hearing aids don’t provide too much amplification and make everything too loud for you.

Your hearing aids are correctly fitted

Of course, the central part of a hearing aid fitting is to ensure your hearing aids actually fit. This is where your ear impressions from previous appointments come into play. Your audiologist sent them off to the lab, and they created special earmolds that attach to the hearing aid. They’re made to fit your ears, meaning you get the perfect fit.

Your audiologist will ensure that the device fits into your ear and that you don’t experience any discomfort. They may get you to walk around, talk, or perform different facial expressions to make sure the hearing aid stays in place and doesn’t slip out.

All settings and features are explained

There will be lots of things you probably don’t understand about your hearing aids, and your audiologist will try and explain them all to you. During your appointment, they’ll run through all the different features and explain how to use them. This means you can change the settings if you ever want to. They also provide you with a handbook that gives you all of this info to read at your own pace after as well!

Care and maintenance tips

Your audiologist also provides general care and maintenance tips for you to follow. This will teach you how to look after your hearing aids and prevent them from breaking.

You will learn a lot from a hearing aid fitting, and it’s the best way to ensure you get used to your hearing aids. It can feel bizarre at first, but your audiologist will help you adapt to them. Hopefully, this has solved any mysteries you had with regards to hearing aid fittings, and it’s prepared you for what lies ahead!