Importance of Hearing Aid Fittings

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with hearing loss, then there’s a good chance you’ve also been booked in for a hearing aid fitting appointment. Fittings are incredibly important for anyone who plans to use hearing aids. That said, going into an appointment blind, so to speak, can be unnerving. The hearing aid fitting appointment typically lasts about an hour and during it, your audiologist will discuss with you many topics, including your lifestyle, fit and how to care for hearing aids.

Help the audiologist understand your lifestyle

There are many different types of hearing aids available.  Some of them fit around the ear, some of them go deeper into your ear canal and others have many settings available. The type of hearing aid you may get will depend on many factors, including your type and degree of hearing loss. Other factors include cost and lifestyle. All of these hearing aids have positives and negatives, and the best choice will depend on your lifestyle.

For instance, for those who enjoy sports and outdoor activities, your audiologist will likely suggest a larger hearing aid because they are easier to clean and more resistant to sweat, dirt and earwax buildup. However, if you want to keep it discreet, then they will likely suggest a smaller hearing aid that is harder to see.

Having the right hearing aid will make it much more comfortable to wear. Most importantly, it also makes it more practical and will become something that you’re accustomed to wearing instead of finding it to be a bother or a nuisance.

Getting the right fit and amplification

Hearing aids would be useless if they didn’t actually help with your hearing. Your audiologist will use instruments to measure how much sound is actually reaching your ears and also help you determine just how much amplification is needed for you to hear the sounds that are important to you.

Without the fitting appointment, it would make using your hearing aids incredibly difficulty and you’d need to fiddle with the settings yourself. This can take a lot of time and effort, so hiring an audiologist will make this much easier and more bearable.

Learning how to take care of your hearing aids

Hearing aids don’t come cheap; at an average of $4000 per pair, they’re a big investment for most individuals and are rarely covered by insurance. In addition to being expensive, they take a lot of work to maintain. They’re fragile and can easily be destroyed if you’re not careful, which is why it’s important to learn how to take care of them.

Make sure you pay attention to what your audiologist has to say regarding any settings that you can choose, how to store your hearing aids and also how to take better care of them so they last longer.

If you forget anything, then the information will likely be written on any manuals and leaflets that your audiologist gives you. These are important documents to keep safe, so make sure you keep a folder reserved for them so you can recap anything you’ve forgotten regarding the care and maintenance process.