Hearing better requires more than just the “latest and greatest.”
From what you may see in your mailbox, on the internet, or from various other outlets of information it is easy to think that the way to help hearing loss is to be fit with the latest and greatest hearing technology available today. Much of what is advertised stresses the most advanced hearing technology and various features and benefits.While the latest and greatest hearing aid contributes to helping someone hear to the best of their ability, it is only part of the “better hearing equation”.
Hearing is a perception. We gather sounds in both of our ears and that sound is transmitted to the brain to be processed. Everyone perceives what they are hearing from hearing aids differently. This means two people with the same “level” of hearing loss would require totally different fitting rationales (need to be programmed differently) or even different manufacturers in some cases. Often times, this is something that cannot be determined from the first visit. The hearing healthcare professional needs to know how to manipulate that product to make it acceptable for you and your specific hearing loss, which is a process that takes time to perfect.
In addition, it must be ensured that all of the sound gets into your ear. Feedback or whistling is what happens when a hearing aid is not fitting properly, letting some of the sound escape the ear. If the fit is not proper, then the hearing aid cannot provide the required sound. Much of the work done during a hearing aid fitting involves perfecting the physical fit, therefore ensuring we can utilize the product to the best of its ability.
Many things must come together to ensure a proper hearing aid fitting which is useable by the patient around the clock and provides actual benefit. In future posts we will visit these different things in more detail.
Happy New Year to all!
