What Happens During a Hearing Aid Fitting?

Hearing aid fittings are designed to ensure you get the best auditory experience from your hearing devices. Whether you’re using in-canal hearing aids, in-ear hearing aids, or behind-the-ear hearing aids, your hearing instrument specialist (HIS) will use your hearing aid fitting to make sure you’re getting the most from your equipment.

If you’ve never had a hearing aid fitting before or it’s been a while since your last appointment, we’ve made it easy to find out what to expect during a hearing aid fitting.

Confirming your diagnosis

Firstly, your hearing instrument specialist will discuss the results of your hearing function tests with you. This will enable you to learn more about your hearing loss and how it’s going to be treated. At your hearing evaluation, your hearing specialist will have gone through the various options and advised you which hearing aids were likely to offer the best results. These will have been created in accordance with your needs and should be on hand for the fitting.

Fitting your earmolds or earpieces

If your chosen hearing aid uses an earmold, your specialist may place this in your ear to ensure it fits comfortably. The HIS will also take a small measurement to confirm how long the tube that connects the mold to the hearing aid should be.

If your device doesn’t feature an earmold but sits inside the ear canal instead, your HIS will select an appropriately sized earpiece and take a measurement to confirm the length of the tubing that will be used.

Programming the hearing aid

Your specialist will want to ensure that your hearing aids are perfectly programmed so that they provide the best enhancements to your hearing function. To do this, they’ll carry out a number of tests. Often known as real ear measures, a small tube will be placed in the ear with a tiny microphone attached to one end. 

The HIS will then play a serious of sounds and measure the volume close to your eardrum. Your HIS will then place your hearing aid in your ear and play these sounds again, to measure the difference in volume close to your eardrum. This may take place a few times, as your HIS will make adjustments according to the volumes recorded and your feedback.

Demonstrating your hearing device

Once your hearing aid has been programmed, your specialist will use the hearing aid fitting to teach you how to operate it. As well as explaining what each setting means and how to switch from one program to another, your HIS will teach you how to clean and maintain your hearing device.

In addition, your HIS will show you how to safely insert and remove your hearing aids and provide specific treatment advice. This may include how often you should wear your hearing aids and what schedule you should follow to get used to them. 

Your hearing aid fittings are vital to the effectiveness of your hearing devices, so attend them as regularly as you can. As well as learning from your HIS, you can use your hearing aid fitting to ask any questions you may have about your hearing function, your treatment and your hearing aids.