Getting the right hearing aids makes a real difference in how well you hear and connect with others. The hearing professionals at Midwest Ear Institute take time to understand your specific needs, lifestyle and the situations where hearing matters most to you. We know that hearing aids work best when they’re properly fitted and programmed for your unique hearing loss and listening environments. Our team works with you to select the right style, carefully program your devices and make adjustments until they work just right for you.
Through detailed testing and listening to your feedback, we ensure your hearing aids help you hear clearly – whether you’re in a quiet conversation at home or a busy restaurant with friends. Your success with hearing aids depends on this personalized approach, and we’re here to support you every step of the way.
What Is Hearing Aid Fitting?
The hearing aids you order from a manufacturer have settings you can adjust based on your needs. Our hearing professionals will help you find the ideal settings for your devices during your fitting and programming appointment. They’ll use your test results to try an initial configuration. Then, they’ll ask you to listen to different tones to verify that you’re getting the support you need.
We may need to adjust your settings a few times to find the right configuration for your unique hearing needs. This is worth doing because it ensures you get maximum value out of your hearing aids in the real world as quickly as possible.
This appointment is also an opportunity for you to get used to your new hearing aids. This includes learning how to properly insert and remove your devices, as well as how to clean and maintain them. This visit is an excellent time to ask any questions you have about using and caring for your hearing aids.
Live Speech Mapping and Hearing Aid Programming
In the past, hearing aid fittings involved asking patients to listen to a series of beeps and noises. These can still help us find the right settings, but they aren’t the same thing as real speech. That’s why hearing professionals have continued pushing for advancement in this area. Live speech mapping is one of the latest approaches to this process.
With live speech mapping, we place small microphones in the ear canal. These measure the response of your hearing aids to live voices with different characteristics. For example, we’ll play real conversations at different tones and frequencies and measure how effectively you’re able to hear each of them.
The key benefit to this is that it helps us find the ideal settings for your hearing aids as quickly as possible. Live speech mapping is a fitting process that more closely replicates how you’ll use your hearing aids in the real world. This can cut down on the number of follow-up appointments it takes to get maximum value out of your new devices.
You can contact Midwest Ear Institute directly to learn more about live speech mapping and how it can improve your fitting and programming appointment.