Case Study – Fred
In our next case study, we will be examining the story of Fred (an alias). Fred came to us after a personal recommendation from a family friend after multiple visits to multiple hearing professionals. Fred’s story goes like this:
Fred had been to multiple professionals searching for the best results with hearing aids but ran into some issues which left him in search of something better. His past experiences had shown him that while the professionals he visited had mostly been very kind, caring people there was a lack of:
1. Ability to fit the hearing aids in a way which Fred was satisfied with and could wear on a regular basis
and
2. Ability to prove to Fred quantitatively that the hearing aids he had were indeed providing the benefit he should be receiving (via “Real-Ear Measurement”).
Fred was not sure that the money he was spending represented good value and therefore had returned multiple sets of hearing aids up to his visit to us.
He explained his experiences to us during his first visit and expressed that he would not purchase hearing devices if he wasn’t satisfied and felt he was receiving excellent value for the money we were asking him to spend. So began an excellent relationship with Fred as we recommended a product, fit him, and saw him for multiple visits to make all of the fine tuning adjustments which were required to get him to the point where he felt he was receiving excellent value. Many of the issues Fred was experiencing in the past were due to the physical fit of the hearing aids. As we have reviewed before, obtaining the proper physical fit of anything going into the ear is very important and depends greatly on the professionals artistic abilities in modifying said device to fit perfectly. It takes persistence, sometimes multiple trips back to the manufacturer for factory re-makes, and time to get it right. It didn’t happen overnight but with persistence and the right professional, the very best results were found.
In addition, not only were we able to get the physical fit of his hearing aids correct which allowed for maximum comfort AND maximum audibility, we could prove to Fred not only through his own experiences but via Real Ear Measurement that the hearing aids were indeed properly compensating for his hearing loss.
The difference for Fred was the ability to get the physical fit right in addition to programming them to his specific needs. While this situation is not un-common we really applaud Fred for his persistence in finding the right professional who can provide him what he needed and then having the patience to work through the fitting process. Far too often someone gets hearing aids and they are not fit optimally which results in years of a mediocre to poor experience with them or even not using them at all and claiming “hearing aids don’t work”.
