A successful hearing aid fitting is more than just selecting the correct device for your hearing needs. The hearing aids need to be properly fitted to your ears so that they provide the correct amount of amplification to maximize hearing aid benefit.
Prior to fitting the hearing aids, your audiologist will conduct a thorough hearing test to measure the softest sound you can hear at different pitches and record the volume of sound that is uncomfortably loud for you. Based on these tests, your audiologist will know how much gain the hearing aid needs to provide in order to amplify soft sounds so they are audible and how much to compress loud sounds so that they are not uncomfortable.
What happens first?
Before the fitting takes place, your audiologist will conduct a thorough hearing test to measure the softest sound that you can hear and at different pitches. The audiologist will then report their findings and record the volume of sound that is uncomfortably loud for you. Based on these tests, your audiologist will know exactly how much benefit the hearing aid needs to provide to amplify the softer sounds so that they become audible. The audiologist will be able to compress loud sounds so that they are not too uncomfortable when you are wearing the hearing aids.
The fitting appointment
At the hearing aid fitting appointment, your audiologist will verify that the hearing aids are correct and what you wanted. They will test the hearing aids to ensure that the softer sounds will be heightened and that any of the louder impressions are set at the level they should be in terms of what you will receive in sound. They will also conduct a real ear measure which is done via a thin tube that will be inserted into your ear canal. The tube is connected to a microphone and this will measure the volume of sound near your eardrum, without any hearing aid device near.
After that, your hearing aid will be inserted into your ear, taking care not to move the probe or the tube microphone that will have already been inserted into your ear canal. Once the hearing aid is turned on, your audiologist will measure how loud the sound is at the output of your hearing aid that has been inserted into your ear. Your audiologist needs to get a broader understanding of the levels of sound, so they will play different sounds varying in soft and loud pitches to verify if you can hear them. They will also check that loud sounds will not exceed your discomfort level that was previously checked.
