Fitting your hearing aid may seem like a simple task. However, it’s not just a case of shoving a hearing aid in your ear. Most people can benefit from the assistance of a hearing health professional. Just why do I need a professional to help me fit my hearing aid? This article explains.

Programming Your Hearing Aid

A hearing aid fitting could be an opportunity to program your hearing aid if it has not already been programmed. This involves adjusting the hearing aid settings in order to match your hearing prescription.

Programming a hearing aid yourself may not be possible. It may require specialist software and an understanding of audiograms and frequencies. A hearing aid professional will have the right tools and knowledge to program it properly – as well as making any last-minute adjustments if necessary.

Checking that Your Hearing Aid Works

It’s important that you don’t walk home with a faulty hearing aid. A hearing health professional will be able to carry out a few tests during your fitting to make sure that your hearing aid is working properly. This could include making sure that you can hear all the frequencies you need to and making sure that there is no distortion or whistling.

Most brand-new hearing aids should have no issues. However, sometimes manufacturing mistakes or damage during delivery or storage can result in problems, so it’s always worth checking.

Making Sure Your Hearing Aid Is Fitted Properly

Your hearing aid needs to sit comfortably within your ear. A hearing aid fitting is a chance to make sure that your hearing aid fits snugly. It’s important that it’s not too large or too loose. On top of affecting comfort, a good fit is important for making sure that no unwanted sounds are picked up. A hearing health professional will be able to examine the hearing aid in your ear and ask questions to determine if it is the right fit.

Explaining How to Use Your Hearing Aid

If it’s the first time you’ve ever worn a hearing aid, a hearing aid fitting could be important for helping to teach you how to use a hearing aid. This includes learning how to clean your hearing aid, how to change the batteries and how to use the controls if necessary.

Already have experience wearing a hearing aid? A hearing aid fitting could still be important if you’re selecting a new hearing aid. Your new hearing aid may have different controls and may use different batteries. There may also be different ways of cleaning and maintaining it. A hearing health professional will be able to walk you through your new device, as well as answering any questions that you may have.

While some of this information may be possible to acquire online, it’s always useful to have a hearing health professional on hand who can show you exactly what you need to do.

All in all, it’s worth seeing a hearing health professional for a fitting rather than trying to fit it yourself – you can be certain that will be set up correctly and that you know how to use it.