Hearing aid fitting: Your full guide

Hearing aids are highly personal. The right model, fit and subsequent adjustments can make them life-changing. On the flip side, uncomfortable, poorly fitting hearing aids lead to a suboptimal experience.

In this guide, Miracle-Ear Audiologist and Product Marketing Specialist Dr. Alitta Boechler, AuD offers a step-by-step look at the hearing aid fitting process and why it's so important in getting the best performance from your hearing aids.

The first step in the hearing aid fitting process is not a fitting at all but a hearing test. You’ll meet with a hearing care professional (HCP) and undergo a series of evaluations to help identify the specific nature of your hearing loss. Consider bringing a loved one to your appointment to offer a second set of listening ears and to help offer insights on your hearing and lifestyle. A hearing test for hearing aids is a critical part of the fitting process to ensure your device addresses your unique hearing needs.

“When you think of over-the-counter [hearing aids] that aren't fit to you, they're just guessing at what sounds need to be louder,” Boechler says. “But the truth is we tend to lose certain parts of our hearing faster than others … So when it's fitted to your exact hearing loss, we can amplify exactly the sounds that matter to you and send those to your ear so that you have the best signal possible.” Your hearing test appointment is a multifaceted process. Here’s what you’ll experience in the office:

• Discuss your hearing: You’ll start by talking with your HCP about your current hearing and the issues you face in daily life. “We ask things like, ‘Where are you having difficulty hearing?’ or ‘Are there certain people you're having difficulty hearing?’” Boechler says.
• Otoscopy: The next step is to look in your ear. Your HCP will perform an otoscopy, which is the process of using a lighted scope to visually examine any issues that may be affecting hearing, like earwax or infection.
• Hearing test: Your HCP will then administer a hearing test, playing sounds at different pitches and asking you to raise your hand or click a button when you hear the sounds. This determines the pitches you can hear and at what volume versus those that you struggle with.
• Additional tests: To better understand the type of hearing loss you’re experiencing, your HCP will also perform bone and air conduction tests, which help to pinpoint exactly where the loss is happening and what’s causing it. These tests provide a deeper view of your hearing loss, allowing your HCP to tailor the best treatment for you. “Hearing loss for most people is in your inner ear, but you can have hearing problems in your outer ear, at your eardrum [and] in your brain,” Boechler says. “So, part of the hearing evaluation is determining where that hearing [loss] is.”
• Additional tests: HCPs may also test your word recognition by having you repeat words in noise or in quiet. This lets the provider know how well you are understanding speech. Additional tests may also be completed based on your hearing needs.

Once your hearing aids are ready, you’ll revisit the Miracle-Ear office for a hearing aid fitting. Your HCP will have already received your hearing aids and checked them over to make sure everything is working.

“When you come into the office, we will put the hearing aids on you and program them specifically to your hearing loss,” Boechler says. “We will check the physical fit and make sure that it’s comfortable for you to wear, and then we can start doing programming.”

Custom hearing aid programming ensures your hearing aids are calibrated to your specific hearing and lifestyle needs, with different program settings available for different sound environments.

One critical step in the fitting process, according to Boechler, is the real ear measure (REM) test, which measures how the hearing aid is working inside your ear. “That’s going to make speech the clearest [so] you’re going to hear the best and you’re going to have the best quality sound.”

Once your hearing aids have been properly fitted, your HCP will walk you through all the buttons, capabilities and instructions for caring for your new hearing aids.

They’ll ensure you understand how to replace your hearing aid battery (or charge it, if it’s a rechargeable style) and how to clean your hearing aids to keep them working their best. They’ll help you download the Miracle-Ear app on your phone and help connect your hearing aids, so you can easily make changes to programming from your phone. There, they’ll show you how to connect to Bluetooth® devices if you have Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids, and show you how to make adjustments for different listening environments and even navigate pre-set programs and settings.

Before leaving, you’ll also learn about Miracle-Ear’s industry-leading three-year warranty and the lifetime aftercare services* available when purchasing Miracle-Ear hearing aids.

As you leave the office, remember: you’re not alone. It can take time to adjust to your new hearing aids. With these new devices, you’ll hear in a way you haven’t heard before. As you go about daily life and use your hearing aids in all types of real-world settings, you may find you need to make some tweaks or adjust hearing aid settings.

“In a couple weeks, come back to the office, and we can continue to make adjustments and make it better for you,” Boechler says. “If you’re struggling to hear on the phone or to hear your grandchild’s voice, we can continue to refine the fitting [and programming] so it fits your specific needs.”

Boechler’s number one recommendation? Give yourself time and space to get used to hearing sounds in a new way. “It might be exhausting, but it’s a process that really pays off when you’re able to hear your grandchildren more clearly,” she says.