First Hearing Aid Fitting: What Should You Expect

Hearing your loved one’s voice or listening to your favourite music is always a pleasurable activity. However, some things are out of anyone’s control. If you suffer from sudden hearing loss or impairment, these little pleasures could suddenly be taken away from you. But thanks to the power of technology, improving your hearing is now possible to do.

Using a hearing aid and regaining your hearing can be exciting but terrifying at the same time. Let this article tell you what you should expect on your first hearing aid fitting to hopefully make you feel less anxious.

What to Expect From Your First Appointment

Your hearing care professional needs to ensure that your hearing aid will fit you comfortably. Their goal is for you to go out of the clinic fully equipped and knowledgeable about its use, care, and maintenance.

On the day of your appointment, expect to spend one to two hours with your hearing care professional. That is just enough time for you and your hearing care professional to cover all the information you need to know.

Here are the things you can expect from your first fitting appointment:

• The Orientation – There are various types of hearing aids, so it is crucial to learn how your specific hearing aid functions. That is why every fitting typically begins with an orientation. During this part, the hearing care professional will discuss your hearing aid’s special features with you. They will also advise you on how you can keep it clean and highly functioning. This is also the part where they manage your expectations and correct any misinformation you have about hearing aids. Take this opportunity to make clarifications or ask questions if you have any.
• The Fitting and Hearing Test – After that, it is finally time to test the device. During this part, your hearing care professional needs to determine two things:
• • The loudest and quietest sounds you can hear with the hearing device’s help
  • Your comfort level or which sounds are uncomfortable for you

• The Adjustments – Based on all the information they gather and with special software, they will then customize and adjust different settings. Considering every listening situation you might encounter every day, they will create templated and adapted hearing settings for you.

What’s Next

The next step will depend on how your meeting turns out, but your hearing care professional will usually ask you to come back for one more meeting.

At this second meeting, they will conduct a “real ear” test on you. This test measures the amount of sound that enters the hearing aid to see whether it matches your needs. For this session, expect a thin tube to enter your ear canal. That is how they will measure the volume of sound.

Conclusion

By the time you leave the clinic, you should know what to expect from your hearing aid, how it can help you in your everyday life, and how to keep it clean and functioning correctly. The only thing you need to work on next is how to adjust to your new way of hearing.

Every pair of hearing aids are designed to work as effortlessly as possible. If you think you or a loved one need to correct their hearing, contact a hearing care professional. Fraser Valley Beltone has a hearing clinic in Langley and Abbotsford, and we offer free hearing tests to members of these communities. Visit us today!