What Happens During a Hearing Aid Fitting?

If you suffer from hearing loss, hearing aids are likely to be the best solution to offer you a better listening experience. However, those devices need to be tailored specifically to your needs, which is why visiting the audiologist for a professional hearing aid fitting should be considered essential.

Nonetheless, the prospect of seeing the audiologist for a process you haven’t experienced can be quite daunting. Knowing what to expect will help you prepare for the appointment and may even aid the audiologist’s work. Here’s all you need to know.

Hearing aid adjustments

Hearing aid devices won’t necessarily give you perfect hearing, but they should increase the range of sounds that you can detect while also making daily life a lot more comfortable. To do this, however, the hearing aids need to be suited to your specific hearing requirements and personal preferences.

The audiologist will spend some time ensuring that the hearing aids have been correctly programmed and calibrated to your personal needs before actually fitting them. This will link up to the results gained from the hearing tests carried out at your previous appointments. After all, fitting them is futile if they aren’t designed to provide the job and function that they should.

Hearing aid fittings

After confirming that the settings are as required, the audiologist will fit the hearing aid. There are many different hearing aid types on the market (which you should have discussed at your last appointment), meaning the exact methods will vary slightly from one user to the next. For example, if you are being fitted with an earmold, the audiologist will ensure that this fits snug in the ear.

Before putting the hearing aid device in your ear, the audiologist may also want to inspect the ear to check for potential blockages. Likewise, the audiologist will verify that any plastic parts and tubing feel comfortable.

Hearing test

A snug-fitting hearing aid is only useful if it actively provides the function and performance levels that are expected. As such, the audiologist will want to test your hearing to check that you are receiving the best restoration possible. This isn’t as thorough as a normal hearing test and is likely to be restricted to a conversation.

It will take some time to get used to wearing hearing aids. However, this is your opportunity to check that background noises aren’t overpowering and that the sound hasn’t become tinny. Moreover, you’ll check to see that hearing aids aren’t causing the buzzing and whistling associated with tinnitus.

Fitting tutorial

Aside from fitting the hearing aid devices to ensure that they are right for your ear, the audiologist will want to know that you are ready to apply and remove them in the right manner each day. Talking you through the various stages of turning the device on, checking the volume and fitting it for comfort and performance will be a vital part of the process.

The audiologist may also want to discuss the ongoing maintenance tips and storage suggestions to ensure that your device remains in the best condition for the long haul. This will enable you to enjoy the benefits of wearing hearing aids for much longer.