Many steps are involved in a hearing aid evaluation. When you believe you might need a hearing aid, first you have to get a hearing evaluation. During the evaluation, an inquiry about your history will be done to identify the extent that your hearing problem impacts your everyday life and the lives of your family. A full history is obtained including identifying how and when the hearing loss started, if you have experienced tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and if you have experienced dizziness or falling. You also will provide some general information about your health history.
Your hearing test results will provide the Hearing Instrument Specialist a baseline of what syllables and vowels you may be missing or hearing. Your answers about your daily routine and speech understanding will help us create a more thorough hearing evaluation.
If permanent loss is identified from your hearing tests, hearing aids may be recommended. Your Hearing Instrument Specialist may explain what consonants, vowels, and sounds you can not hear and what hearing aids can do to help you. Then, you will get to see, touch and try different styles and quality levels of hearing aids.
Your Hearing Instrument Specialist will help identify the best hearing aid style, features (i.e. rechargeable, Bluetooth, remote controls) and level of sophistication based on your level of hearing loss, daily routine, and financial situation. The final decision on which hearing aids are purchased is your choice, but the Hearing Instrument will make the best recommendations based on your needs.
Once you make a decision, the Hearing Instrument Specialist may be able to deliver hearing aids that day if they have inventory of your product. Otherwise, hearing aids will be ordered from a manufacturer and will be programmed by the Hearing Instrument Specialist to meet your unique hearing needs. If you selected custom hearing aids or behind-the-ear hearing aids that require molds, the Hearing Instrument Specialist will take impressions of both ears. Getting custom hearing aids or molds made can take several weeks so understand that you will have to wait while a custom product is made for you. There is an adjustment period when wearing hearing aids, so it’s possible that your Hearing Instrument Specialist may make additional changes to your settings to ensure you’re getting the best listening experience possible.