Why Your Hearing Aid Fitting is Vital to Your Overall Satisfaction

Every single person is unique – which also means hearing loss can impact you differently than it does a loved one or friend. While hearing aids can be fine-tuned to treat your hearing loss, it requires the diagnosis and testing of an audiologist to customize it to your exact needs. This is what makes your hearing aid fitting appointment vital to your overall experience and satisfaction with your devices. If your hearing aids are not specifically tailored to your needs, you won’t benefit from them in the ways you should.

What happens at the hearing aid fitting?

Your hearing aid fitting visit is a time for education and adjustments. During this appointment, your audiologist will cover a vast amount of information regarding your devices – so make sure to take a pen and paper or a friend to help you keep track of everything.

Your audiologist will show you how to insert and remove your devices and will have you repeat their actions as well to ensure you know how to do this without causing damage to the hearing aid. You will also be taught how to properly care for your hearing aids, which means the right ways to clean and maintain them, as well as where to store them to keep them safe.

During your hearing aid fitting, the audiologist will also check the physical fit of your devices. This means making sure they fit comfortably, securely and will provide you with the best listening experience possible. Next, the audiologist will program your devices to meet your hearing loss needs. This means they will fine-tune the settings so that you can hear the sounds you currently struggle with.

Once your hearing aid has been programmed, you will learn how to operate the technology. Your audiologist will show you things like how to switch between settings, how to adjust the volume and how to turn the unit on and off. They will also help you use any additional features you may have selected, such as Bluetooth.

Adjustments and follow-ups

Your audiologist will also schedule a follow-up visit with you for two-to-three weeks after the hearing aid fitting. This will give them the opportunity to talk to you about your experience with your devices so far, and make any adjustments to your device’s settings that you may need. Minor changes are completely common, and you should not worry if your audiologist suggests fine-tuning a few programs.