Hearing aids are fitted to people who possess an aidable hearing loss. An aidable hearing loss is a hearing loss that can be overcome when the sufferer is using a properly fitted hearing aid, enabling him or her to hear at a level that was much better than before.
What are the parameters of a successful hearing aid fit and how can that be best achieved? In summary, the best way to achieve a successful hearing aid fitting for the user is Choice, Expertise, Patience, and Validation.
A hearing aid professional must be able to find the correct device across a range of brands and models to fit an individual with the most suitable device possible. This means that there should be a variety of brands and model types for a hearing professional to select from such as Widex, Phonak, ReSound and Signia (previously known as Siemens Hearing).
A hearing professional requires audiological knowledge, processes, a wealth of fitting experience as well as an innate empathy to others to be able to produce the best hearing aid usage experience for the user.
Hearing professionals are qualified, experienced veterans of the hearing industry who are continuously trained in the latest developments of hearing device technology.
The most qualified hearing professional will not be able to determine a positive hearing aid fitting for a user if he has no patience. Likewise for the user, it takes a period of time before the user is used to the louder, fuller and brighter sounds that a properly fitted hearing aid can bring to a hearing impaired person. The brain that is deprived of normal volumes for a long time will take some time to adjust to sounds and voices amplified by a hearing aid.
Hearing aid users often gauge their satisfaction with their hearing devices by whether they are coping better when listening to others. While this is the end outcome that we want as hearing professionals, it isn’t always the best method for determining whether your hearing aid is helping you as much as it can. Afterall, every ear is different and the same hearing aid set in the same way for two different people will not impact these people in the same way.
Specialists employ Real Ear Measurement (REM) for verification, a procedure by which the hearing aid’s performance is measured inside the ear of the user, to determine if the sounds the user is receiving from the hearing aid is what was set by the hearing professional. This procedure involves specialised audiology equipment and expertise, so make sure to consult a professional.
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