Category Archives: Hearing Aid Fitting

What’s The Process Of Buying Hearing Aids?

The first steps to improving your hearing and quality of life is having your hearing tested and choosing hearing aids.

When you receive your hearing aids, you will need to have them fitted specifically to your loss to ensure they optimize your hearing potential. The hearing aid fit process usually requires just one appointment with three follow up appointments to get your hearing aids feeling comfortable and providing the correct level of sound. You could spend an hour having your hearing aids fit for the first time. You may attend further appointments to have your hearing aids adjusted. This is a very common process when auditory rehabilitation is recommended.

Programming Your Hearing Aids

Before your hearing professional can fit your hearing aids, they need to be programmed. Using your specific hearing exam, they will change the settings using special software so that they are programmed for your ears. It is always recommended to bring someone with you like a loved one that you talk to on a daily basis so their voice and be used to validate that you are hearing certain pitches and tones that you have been missing.

Another part of this fitting process is checking that your hearing aids feel comfortable. This means both that they feel physically comfortable in or behind your ear, and that they provide a comfortable level of sound. Your hearing professional might ask you to answer some questions to determine whether you are hearing the sound as you should. It should be clear and pleasant, although it might not sound exactly like it did before your hearing loss. Your hearing professional should be knowledgeable of your specific loss to counsel and guide you throughout your hearing journey.

Using Your Hearing Aids

Ask Questions! Your hearing aid fitting appointment is a great opportunity to learn all about your hearing aids. You will be using them daily, it’s recommended that you where them at least 8 hours everyday so understanding how to use them and how to care for them is essential. You will learn how to put your hearing aids in and how to take them out again, as well as how to control the volume and other settings. You will also learn how to change the batteries if they are not rechargeable. There are many features with todays new hearing aid technology like Bluetooth and streaming phone calls or music.

Your hearing professional can help you with how to care for your hearing aids too. They can talk to you about how to clean them and store them, as well as what you can do if you have any problems with them. Most people find it helpful to bring someone to their appointment, who can help them to remember the information that they are given. You can also ask for written instructions on how to care for your hearing aids or take some notes to help you remember. It can take a while to become comfortable with using your hearing aids, but in time you will become a pro!

Wearing Your Hearing Aid Is Like Taking Your Brain To The Gym

Wearing your hearing aids can feel strange at first, the physical feeling of wearing them and the sound that you receive. It’s not unusual to find the sounds that you rediscover overwhelming. There can be some things that you have not heard for a long time. You might feel many emotions about wearing your hearing aids and hearing things differently. Being honest with your hearing professional will help them to make the right adjustments. An average adjustment period for someone new to hearing aids is 2 weeks to 2 months. Just think, if you haven’t heard sound at a normal level in 5 or maybe 25 years your going to need to start with lower adjustments and then slowly increased over time to your prescriptive levels. Think about it like exercise for your brain. If you wanted to run 10 miles you don’t start day one trying to run 10 miles you start with a shorter distance and slowly increase your muscles get stronger. Think of your brain like a Hearing Muscle!

When you first start to use your hearing aids, you might only start wearing them for a few hours each day. It can be overwhelming if you wear them for too long, especially as your brain needs to adjust to the new sounds. As you start to use them more, you will get used to them. You will attend further appointments to adjust your hearing aids, which will help your hearing get back into shape. The first fitting is often just a first step, and you can later perfect how your hearing aids are programmed. Having a positive attitude and practicing with your hearing aids can make a big difference.

If you are or have been experiencing difficulty hearing CALL NOW we would love to help you get your hearing back! Absolute Hearing Care Centers are happy to offer a FREE consultation and give you all the information you need to make an informed decision.

CALL NOW: 843-839-1936

Proper Preparation for a Hearing Aid Fitting

Proper Preparation for a Hearing Aid Fitting

Proper Preparation for a Hearing Aid Fitting

It is common for some degree of hearing loss to occur as you age. In fact, presbycusis is one of the most common causes of hearing loss. Therefore, you must tend to your hearing health just as you tend to your overall health in your senior years.

Millions of Americans are living with some degree of hearing loss, approximately 48 million according to an estimate from the Hearing Loss Association of America. It is the third most common chronic physical condition in the U.S., more prevalent than diabetes or cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Taking care of your hearing health is a process that you do not have to go through alone. Loved ones and your hearing health care professional can help you along the way when you are in need. Reaching out for support as you re-learn the functions of hearing, and the accompanying equipment, is a great way to set yourself up for success.

After taking a hearing test, your hearing health professional will discuss your results with you and schedule a hearing aid fitting. Many people may not realize that these are separate appointments that need their own time because lots of information is covered in each. The hearing aid fitting appointment may happen over multiple visits to ensure that the hearing aid is comfortable and suited to your needs.

The Fitting Appointment

During your fitting appointment with your hearing health professional, they will fit you with a hearing aid based on your specific needs. Your hearing health professional will ask you questions about your lifestyle before selecting a hearing aid that might best suit you and you should answer with as much detail as possible.

Some questions may include: Do you live a relatively quiet lifestyle or in a home with a big family? Some people have trouble hearing high pitched sounds of women and children, so this information would be essential to ensuring your hearing aid hears those tones and pitches. If you are employed, do you work in a cubicle or on a construction site? The CDC estimates that about 25 percent of hearing loss in America is job related, so your hearing health professional needs this information.

Your hearing health professional will ensure that the physical fit of the hearing aid is comfortable around or in your ear and that the device is programmed correctly. They will provide information on how to use and care for your new hearing aid, too. This is an opportunity where having a friend or family member with you could benefit you; they could be a second pair of ears to receive information and sort through it later with you.

Take the following steps to ensure a successful hearing aid fitting:

  • Clear your calendar

Your appointment is much more than picking up your new hearing aids. It is a course in operation and care that takes time. It is best not to rush out of your hearing health professional’s office and miss out on any vital information so it is best to clear your schedule for the day of your fitting.

  • Bring a friend

Ask a friend, relative, or someone in your support system to join you at your fitting appointment. The journey to better hearing health has been a long one and it will be nice to hear a familiar voice as you begin to hear more normally again. Your companion can also help to remember some of the instruction and information your hearing health professional gives you.

  • Take Notes

Taking notes should certainly happen during the appointment, but this step can also begin beforehand. When questions come up about the hearing aid, the impact on your lifestyle, or care and maintenance, write them down so you can have the hearing health professional address them. You should also take notes during conversation and encourage your companion to do the same. Afterward, the two of you can share and compare notes for anything that may have been missed.

Absolute Hearing Care Centers

It can be difficult admitting that you need help treating disabling hearing loss. The stigma associated with hearing loss and hearing aids—ageism, self-perception, vanity, to name a few—can be a huge barrier to seeking treatment. Once you are able to meet or overcome those barriers, however, you will notice an abundance of help and resources available to you.

A first, important step is scheduling a hearing exam with a hearing health professional at Absolute Hearing Care Centers for a thorough diagnosis. Our team will discuss your results with you and then schedule a hearing aid fitting. Being prepared before and knowing what to expect during the fitting appointment will serve you well in familiarizing yourself with a new hearing aid.

Your path to better hearing health is a continuous journey that you need not navigate alone. Take advantage of the wealth of information your hearing health care professional can provide and stay informed. The groundwork may be laid during the fitting, but just as your lifestyle may change over time, the function and fit of you hearing aid can also change to serve your hearing health needs.