Ask The Audiologist Question

Posted by HearingAids on October 20, 2010 under Ask The Audiologist Q&A, Hearing Aids, Hearing Loss | Be the First to Comment

Hi.
I have a sister who has impaired hearing since she was little . She is
26 now and she bought the hearing aids . But it does work very well.
She said if she put them on . The value is higher, but she can’t hear
thing clearly, she felt even unclearer than before . What should we do
now ?
Pleasel reply .
Thank you
发自我的 iPhone

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If your sister has purchased hearing aids and is not hearing clearly, she needs go back to the provider for service. There could a number of things causing the problem:

1. It could be a programming issue – Most hearing aids can adjust the sound quality and/or clarity for a variety of different parameters such as loudness, pitch, as well as speech processing. The hearing health professional should be able to make a number of adjustments to find the best solution for your sister. It is a good idea to be as specific as possible about her experience thus far with the new hearing aids. Also, a qualified hearing care professional should be able to verify the response of the hearing aids and make sure that it is meeting the needs of her hearing loss. Often this process of verification can be done using Real-ear measurements or speech mapping. Ask the provider how they are verifying the fitting of your sister’s hearing aids.
2. Another reasons to follow-up with the provider is to review your sister’s expectations and the possible outcome she can expect with hearing aids. It is very important for the hearing provider to explain what is achievable with her hearing loss. Since hearing aids do not restore normal hearing, but provide an improvement, it is likely that your sister is expecting something that might not be possible based upon her hearing loss. Hearing aids will not give you back the hearing you once had, but should provide an improvement for her quality of life.

Keep in mind, this is a process, and as such requires retraining of the auditory system. With the technological improvements in digital hearing aids, we can now do marvelous things with amplification. Sometimes, an issue can be solved simply be approaching it by a different feature or technology. The best way is to explore these options with a qualified, licensed hearing care professional that you trust.