The big day is finally here, your hearing test revealed that you are an ideal candidate for hearing aids and you are about to be fit with your first set. Following your hearing evaluation, you and your hearing professional selected the style and level of technology that would best suit your listening needs. Now what? Here is what you can expect at your first fitting appointment.
The appointment will probably take about an hour. It is important for your hearing professional to have plenty of time with you to ensure your new hearing aids fit comfortably. A comfortable fit includes the physical fit of the hearing aids in your ears as well as how the hearing aids sound. Your hearing professional will program your new hearing aids based on the results of your hearing test and then make changes based on your individual preferences and unique listening environments.
It is important to remember that hearing is subjective, which means there is a good chance that two people with identical hearing losses will prefer to have their hearing aids programmed differently.
During your appointment you will learn about the advanced features of your hearing aids and how you can optimize those in your everyday listening environments. The advanced features in your hearing aids will be customized to your preferences in order to maximize your hearing and your lifestyle.
Your hearing professional will also review care and maintenance with you. You will leave your appointment understanding how to clean and maintain your new hearing aids to keep them functioning optimally. You will also learn the parts of your hearing aids. Your hearing professional will also review how to troubleshoot any problems that may arise.
Try to remember to ask questions during your appointment. Your hearing professional will send you home with the information you reviewed, that way you don’t have to worry about remembering all the information. Some people find it helpful to write down questions and concerns after they begin wearing their new hearing aids, that way their concerns can be addressed at follow up appointments.
Adjusting to your new hearing aids will take some time. Your hearing professional will schedule follow up appointments to review what you learned at your first fitting appointment and to make adjustments to your hearing aids. Additional programming adjustments are quite common during follow up appointments. Everyone adjusts to new sounds differently so try to be patient with yourself as you adjust to hearing new sounds.
Giving yourself time to adjust to your new hearing aids is well worth it. A customer satisfaction survey by the Better Hearing Institute revealed that 9 out of 10 people report that hearing aids improved their quality of life.