A hearing instrument specialist (HIS) is a professional who is trained to advise on and sell hearing aids and other assistive hearing devices. Hearing aids help people who have hearing loss by giving them back some of the things that hearing loss can take away. With hearing aids, you can hear better in social situations and enjoy the activities that you usually do. Hearing aids can even help to make you safer, by helping you to be more aware of your surroundings. If you're looking for a hearing instrument specialist, you should think about a few different things to help you make the right choice. Here are some of the things to consider when you're looking for a hearing instrument specialist.

Location

Location is often at the top of the list of requirements for people looking for any health service. Choosing somewhere with a convenient location makes life easier for you. You can select somewhere that's easy for you to get to, whether it's close to your home or work, or just on the right bus route. The best way to find somewhere that's in the right location for you is to search using Google Maps or something similar. If you search using the location that you want, it will place options on a map for you so that you can easily see how to get there. You can even check the different routes for driving there, public transport possibilities and even how you can walk there.

Office hours

As well as being able to get there easily, you also want the clinic for your hearing instrument specialist to have office hours that work for you. Some places will have more limited opening hours than others, which might be fine for some but won't always work for you. If you want to avoid missing work or you need to try and fit an appointment around other commitments, you might be looking for somewhere that offers more convenient office hours. This could include late afternoon or evening hours, early morning hours or appointments at the weekend. You should be able to check their office hours on their website. Sometimes, you can even book online. If you can't find them, you can get in touch to ask.

Reviews

It's also important to know that you're choosing a hearing instrument specialist that offers a good service. One of the best ways to determine if you're choosing the right specialist is by looking at reviews. It should be simple to find online reviews from people who have already used the specialist. These reviews can also come with ratings, which give you a quick way to assess the standard of a specialist. Once you look at the rating, you can get more in-depth by reading reviews and drilling down into people's opinions. Both positive and negative reviews can be useful to help you form your own view.

When you select a hearing instrument specialist, think about what your own priorities are to find the right choice.