If your audiologist recommends that you need hearing aids at your fitting appointment, your audiologist will set up your hearing aids according to your hearing assessment and your preferences.

Hearing aids are a significant investment and it is extremely important that the device chosen is suitable for your hearing loss, needs and also that it is programmed correctly and validated objectively through the careful and thorough taking of measurements. Your fitting appointment is customised to you specifically to you and may include:

Confirmation of appropriate acoustic parameters

• We will ensure that all aspects such as the tubing, speaker and mould choice are correct. Incorrect parameters can impact both the comfort and sound quality of a hearing device.

Real-ear measures

• Unfortunately, some providers take shortcuts and don’t perform real ear measures. Real-ear measures provide a method for objectively assessing the accuracy and appropriateness of a hearing device fitting. As we all have different shaped ear canals, this affects how sounds reach your eardrum. We assess and measure the “real” amount of sound as it reaches the eardrum rather than guessing what it might be.  This must be done to ensure your hearing aid is performing its best.

Sound checks

• Sound checks ensure that the sound quality of the hearing device is optimised based on your reports. It may include both comfort and clarity checks as well as evaluating your preference for different fitting prescription methods.

Hearing aid management

• Your audiologist will ensure that you understand and feel comfortable with the use of your hearing aids. We will take the time to answer any questions you may have.

Consolidation of all information and future planning

• At the end of the appointment, we will make sure that you feel comfortable with the fitting and all the information as well as planning for your next appointment.

Now that your hearing aids are all set up, it’s time to give it a try in the real world. But don’t worry, a follow-up appointment will be scheduled for 2-3 weeks after your fitting. At this appointment, you will be given an opportunity to:

• Tell your audiologist about your experience with your new hearing device(s); that so that they can make any changes they need to and discuss your needs with you.
• Raise any questions you have about your hearing device(s), or anything you may have forgotten.

In the follow-up appointment, your audiologist will also undertake a verification of your hearing aids and discuss other communication tactics to ensure you get the most out of your hearing aids. In essence, the follow-up appointment is there so your audiologist can continue to support you in your hearing journey.

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Hearing is a “use it or lose it” sense. If the brain can no longer hear the sounds of life, then it becomes deprived of stimulation and slowly weakens. Delaying the fitting of a hearing aid can aggravate this process and also makes it much hard to “acclimatise” or get used to a hearing aid.

It can be many years before a person with a hearing loss seeks help for their difficulties. And then in an instant, all that lost hearing is given back, so it’s not surprising that getting used to hearing aids is a process that takes time.

Typically as a first time hearing aid user, you will notice an immediate improvement in speech clarity of those around you. You could also notice that your own voice sounds different, but rest assured, it hasn’t changed for everyone else, it’s just because you are hearing it properly for the first time, often in a long time!

Next, it is the smaller sounds, like the car indicator, or footsteps on the ground that may be most noticeable. This is because these are the sounds that you lost first and those which require the most amplification. The tone of sounds may also sound different from what you are used to, and this will depend on the type of hearing loss you have.

Over time your brain will acclimatise to these new sounds, and they will become your new ‘normal’. But if you want to be eased in, your audiologist will ensure that you are comfortable with the sounds that you are hearing.

Depending on how long you have had a hearing loss before being fitted, it may take time to train the brain to relearn how to hear. The best way to do this and get the most out of them is to wear them, and often. For some, the best way to do this is to wear them at home, where you feel most comfortable. Then over time, gradually increase the hours you wear them until you are wearing them all the time.

Many people believe that they don’t need to wear their hearing aids when they are at home alone, as their difficulties are in noisy environments. However, wearing hearing aids in a quiet environment has been proven to maximise their benefit in the places you need them most as it enables the brain to slowly and better adapt to the new improved sound of the hearing aids.

It is important that if you are having any trouble with the sound of your hearing aids, or there is any reason that you are not comfortable wearing them, to make an appointment to see one of Can:Do Hearing’s audiologists because a small change to the settings may make a world of difference.