The Most Accurate Fit

A majority of new hearing aids are not fit properly! I am not referring so much to the physical fit of the devices, but rather the settings within the aids.

During the traditional hearing aid fitting the internal device settings are derived as follows. The hearing exam results are entered into the software for the chosen device. The software then guesses where to set the device based on two factors:

#1 The hearing test results
#2 The acoustics of the average human ear canal.

Sounds reasonable? The problem is that a vast majority of ear canals are NOT exactly average. The farther that your ear canal deviates from the average human ear canal... .. the more inaccurate those guesstimated settings are going to be! The likely result is newly fitted aids that are simply not as beneficial to your hearing as they could be......had the settings been more accurate.

The best way to take into account those individual differences in ear canal characteristics is by using what we refer to as probe microphone measurements. This involves placing a very small microphone into your ear canal between the end of the hearing aid and your eardrum. We can then measure exactly what the hearing aid is doing in your ear .... real time. These measurements are utilized as guidance to adjust the hearing aid(s) for the most accurate fit possible (in your ear with.... that particular device).

Sounds like good science right? You would assume that a vast majority of professionals would utilize this technology in order to ensure the best possible outcomes and the happiest patients. This is simply not the case. The process of taking probe microphone measurements is time consuming, the equipment is expensive, and it requires additional experience / competency. An estimated 80% of hearing aid professionals do not regularly utilize probe microphone measurements! Consumer reports released a study in July of 2009 on the subject of hearing aid satisfaction. They concluded (using probe microphone measurements conducted by an Audiologist) that 2/3 of all new hearing aids were improperly fit. That's 66%!!!!

VHB utilizes a state-of-the-art probe microphone system called "speech mapping." We are able to measure the response of your new aids in your ear with an actual speech signal to ensure that they are working properly and adjusted for optimal speech understanding. We take the time to do these measurements with each and every fit because our goal is simply to do the best job that we can. The regular use of probe microphone measurements is one of the many things that separates us from the competition.

 

Ask The Audiologist A Question

Enter Your Message

Try a new image.
Security Code:

Re-type Security Code: *
(for spam protection)