At the time of the hearing evaluation, a case history will be taken to determine how you and your family perceive your hearing problem. Questions will also be asked about the onset of the hearing loss, presence of tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and dizziness. If the testing reveals a sensorineural hearing loss, then a hearing aid may be recommended for one or both ears.

There are many hearing aids to choose from, but we will work with you to find the best choice for you based on your lifestyle, degree of hearing loss, and budget. Your audiologist will use the information that you provided in your case history and the results of your audiological evaluation to help you decide on the best model for you.

During the hearing aid fitting, the device is programmed to meet your specific hearing loss. You are then provided with instructions on how to insert the hearing aid in the ear, how to remove it, how to change batteries and how to care for and clean the device.

It’s completely normal for hearing aids to be adjusted several times during the trial period. If it isn’t sounding right or is uncomfortable, it’s very likely a fitting issue. We’re happy to work with you to get it refitted so that you are 100% satisfied.

Hearing aids are not like glasses. Your hearing will not instantly be restored from the very first time you put them on. It can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months before you are finally comfortable with your hearing aid. With the right attitude and a little patience however, you will look forward to putting them on every morning. Here are a few tips to remember when wearing them for the first time:

Hearing aids have a long list of benefits to your long term health, but it’s important to remember that they do not provide “perfect” hearing or restore your hearing to normal. Instead, hearing aids provide you with additional information to help you hear and understand more effectively.

It takes time to adjust to wearing hearing devices and the amount of time required varies from person to person. In general, however, the greater the hearing loss and the longer amount of time the hearing loss has been present, the more difficult the transition will be to using hearing aids. Following your first time wearing them out of the clinic, don’t hesitate to come back if you have any questions or concerns.

Let us know what situations you find it most difficult to keep up. We can help you develop strategies to manage these difficult listening situations.

Virtually everyone, hearing aid users and non-hearing aid users, complain about background noise at one time or another. There is no way for a hearing device to eliminate the sounds that the wearer does not want to hear. The good news is that there are now hearing aid circuits and features available that help to minimize some unwanted sounds.

If you have hearing loss in both ears. Wearing hearing devices bilaterally (one in each ear) will improve your ability to:

• Hear in noisy settings
• Localize to sounds in your environment
• Improve your ability to understand speech, especially in the presence of background noise
• Hear soft sounds at lower levels