So many of us take our hearing for granted. Relatively few people with good hearing learn sign language and we often fail to carry out the best healthcare or take the necessary precautionary actions. Instead, we have earphones on at a high volume and will happily spend time in environments with excessive levels of noise. When it comes down to it, we will generally assume that we’ll never be affected by hearing loss ourselves. It’s important that we take care of our hearing though! Here are a few steps you can take to help ensure the best quality of hearing for you and your loved ones!
Diagnosing Hearing Loss
If you notice any changes in your hearing or identify warning signs that could indicate upcoming changes in your hearing, it’s extremely important that you visit a professional audiologist and have a proper hearing test carried out. If problems are identified during the test, the audiologist will be able to recommend a treatment or hearing aids that will improve your quality of life! You can find out more about this here.
Being Fitted with Hearing Aids
The Selection Process
More people have hearing aids than you’d imagine. These days, options are less clunky or visible. Your first step towards being fitted with hearing aids will generally be a simple consultation with your audiologist. Different hearing aids will suit different individuals. There are seemingly endless brands, designs, and options out there. It is important you get the one that’s right for you first time round. Once you have settled on the hearing aid that best suits your need, the audiologist will be able to order them for you. Remember that custom fit hearing aids may take a little longer than standard fit hearing aids. To have these, your audiologist will have to take ear mold impressions to ensure that the hearing aids fit your ears perfectly. When your audiologist takes an impression for the mold for your hearing aids, they will essentially be measuring the correct length for the tubing that will connect the earmold to the hearing aid.
The Programming Process
When your hearing aids arrive, your audiologist will program them. This will ensure that they work perfectly for you and will do what they’re supposed to. To program your hearing aids, the audiologist will use a special software. Once they’ve been programmed, you will need to test them. Your audiologist will probably request that you wear them while facing a speaker that is playing sounds at varying levels. While this is happening, your audiologist will then insert a thin, soft tube into your ear canal, which will measure the sounds within your ear. As they test the sound, they will make prescriptive adjustments to your aid.
Don’t take your hearing for granted and remember that there’s more and more technology being developed to help reduce hearing loss symptoms!