4 Tips for a Successful Hearing Aid Fitting

If you’ve never worn hearing aids before, you may be more concerned about the hearing aid fitting process than the hearing tests themselves. It’s normal to be a bit anxious, especially when you have no experience with hearing aids. However, your audiologist is well versed to help you through this crucial step in improving your hearing. Here are four tips for a successful hearing aid fitting:

1. Relax

You should be comfortable during your hearing aid fitting. In order for a good fit, you don’t want to be clenching your jaw! Take time to relax prior to the appointment. Write down any questions you anticipate and try to set your appointment for a day when your schedule isn’t too busy. There’s nothing to be nervous about this appointment. If it helps, take a friend or relative along for support.

2. Know what to expect

Just as you may have done prior to your hearing test appointment, do a little research into what a hearing aid fitting appointment involves. A friend with hearing aids may be able to provide some specifics, and there are many articles online to help you prepare.

The appointment involves one more hearing test to allow your audiologist to make adjustments to the amplification. A thin tube is placed in your ear to measure your eardrum’s response to sound volumes. The test is repeated with the hearing aids inserted to balance amplification.

Your audiologist will also check fit to make sure the hearing aids sit comfortably in your ear.

3. Ask questions

There’s a lot of information coming your way during your hearing aid fitting. In addition to learning how to insert and remove your hearing aids, you will also receive instructions and materials about how to clean and care for your devices, change the batteries and adjust volume. Don’t be afraid to ask questions while your audiologist goes over this information. If you want, take notes.

4. Give it time

It takes a while to get used to wearing hearing aids. You will walk out of the office wearing your hearing aids, but just for a few hours the first day. As you gradually work up to wearing your devices all day, remember that your brain needs some time to adjust to all the new sounds you are hearing. While things may not sound as you expect at first, your auditory system will adapt quickly.

You’ve taken a big step to improve your hearing and you should feel good about it. Once you have your fitting appointment and begin wearing your hearing aids, you will wonder why you didn’t start the process sooner. You will see daily improvements not only in your hearing health, but in your lifestyle as well.