The role of the consumer, the audiologist, and the manufacturer for a successful hearing aid fitting
To have a successful fitting of hearing aids it takes the consumer, audiologist and manufacturer working together for a common goal, “To bring back the sounds of life with hearing aids.”
As the consumer it’s best to do some research and talk with friends and family before going into the first appointment. It is a big decision, that when done right should have a POSITIVE impact on you and your family. Know what features the hearing aids offer to best fit your needs and lifestyle. Know your budget and plan on spending all of it, get the best hearing aid you can afford. Bring a trusted family member with you to your appointments to help make the important decisions. The Audiologist or Hearing Instrument Specialist is responsible to know the products available and to perform the required tests to evaluate the hearing loss a consumer presents.
Once the tests are evaluated, the professional should talk with the consumer to help determine the best hearing aid for your loss, your budget and lifestyle. After a hearing aid is chosen, they will need individualized programming to fit you properly. And lastly, the professional must be able to teach you how the hearing aids work in a way that it is understandable. Engaging family members in the process is essential for a successful outcome. Manufacturers listen to both the professional and the consumer to understand the products consumers are looking for. Each year they spend large amounts of money on research to bring new technology to hearing aids, making them more real sounding.
This research adds to the expensive when purchasing, but it’s necessary to continue to focus on the main problem area of hearing – mainly managing background noise and speech recognition. Then when new products are ready for the consumer, they need to supply software that is easy for the professional to use, with continued training to encourage a deep understanding of what a hearing aid is capable of. When all three work in unison the result will be successful…for all three.
Read the full article Roles in Successful Hearing Aid Fitting: Consumers, Audiologists and Manufacturers.
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