So you’ve had your Hearing Evaluation appointment and with the Audiologist’s help you’ve decided on the right kind of hearing aids to purchase and they’ve been ordered. The next step is your Fitting Appointment which is usually booked the week after your evaluation appointment and is about an hour long.
This is what you can expect when you come to one of our clinics for your fitting appointment.
The Audiologist will start by explaining the process to you and begin by inspecting your ear canals to ensure they are clear. Your hearing instruments will then be connected to the computer so the Audiologist can make acoustic adjustments during the fitting.
She will then put a small microphone down your ear canal which will measure the output of the sound as it reaches your eardrum. This is done to get your Real Ear Measurement. Your new hearing instrument will then be placed on top of this microphone and the hearing instruments will be turned on. At this point, there will be a variety of speech signals presented from the Real Ear Measure machine that will allow the Audiologist to adjust the hearing aids in such a way that we can ensure the right amount of volume is presented at each frequency. An important part of this measurement is ensuring sound does not exceed your loudness tolerance levels.
Once the Real Ear Measurements are completed, the Audiologist will talk with you about your first impressions of the sound. It is likely that the Audiologist will turn the overall volume down a bit so as not to overwhelm you with sound at the first fitting. Most people lose their hearing gradually, so it’s easier to adjust the sound higher in stages.
When the sound levels have been set to a comfortable level for you, the instruments will be removed from your ears and the Audiologist will go over the following:
- Battery insertion and use
- Care and cleaning of the hearing instruments
- How to properly insert and remove
- Operation of the volume control and program buttons
- Operation of the remote control (if applicable)
- How to use them on the phone
- What to do with them when they’re not in use
- Counselling on the directional microphones and their function
- What to expect in the first few days and weeks
- Connecting the instruments to any Bluetooth accessories such as TV’s or cell phones
- Will review the instruction booklet that comes with the hearing instruments.
Once you are comfortable with the use of your hearing instruments, we will go over information on the warranty as well as the 90 day trial period.
At this point of your appointment, you will see Devon, Diane or Tracy at the front desk to book your follow up appointment which is generally booked around two weeks after the fitting appointment.
Check back next week as I’ll be explaining what happens at the follow up appointment!