You have to go through quite a few steps to have your hearing aid fitted. Most audiologists follow a specific process to ensure you receive the correct treatment for your hearing loss.
Choosing the Right Device
A very important part of hearing aid selection is choosing the correct device to meet your individual needs. This is usually based on your previous audiogram results, and will determine the amount of amplification that is required. In addition to the degree of hearing loss, other factors such as lifestyle, and the amount of time that you spend in noisy situations, will also be taken into account when choosing the most suitable hearing aid.
Programming to Your Hearing Loss
Next the audiologist programs your hearing aid using Real-Ear Measurement. This involves placing a tiny probe microphone into your ear canal and measuring how your hearing aid actually performs in your ear. The audiologist will use your information to set the appropriate settings on the hearing aid before you leave the appointment, rather than relying on average settings that would have been pre-programmed by the software.
Checking for Feedback
Feedback is checked on the hearing aid to ensure that no tones of frequency are producing any whistling or other form of interference. This can occur if the ear mould or dome does not fit correctly within the user’s ear and by readjusting the hearing aid, the problem can be overcome and the user leaves with satisfactory hearing aid.
The Trial Period
Typically, there is a trial period of a few weeks after the initial fitting of your hearing aid(s). During this time, the audiologist will set up an acclimatisation programme that gradually increases the amount of amplification to assist your brain in getting used to the sounds that you were not able to hear before. Audiologist Cheltenham is covered in more detail at https://www.imperialhearing.com/audiologist-near-me/cheltenham/.
Follow-Up Adjustments
The audiologist will then schedule a follow-up appointment to make any further alterations to the settings of your hearing aid. This will be in order to make any changes to the programming of the aid, following on from your comments on the difficulty you have experienced in listening in a variety of situations. The process of how hearing aids are fitted on the NHS involves a hearing aid being fitted, the aid then being verified to ensure that it is functioning correctly, and then aftercare reviews are held in order to ensure that the user of the hearing aid is hearing correctly in the situations where they need to.
It may take a few appointments to get the best hearing aid fitted for you, but it will be worth it in the end to be able to hear in all situations.
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