Your hearing aid fitting might arrive days or weeks after the audiologist has conducted a hearing test and recommends auditory aids. Before you go for your appointment, it would be helpful to arm yourself with some relevant questions. Assuming it is your first time, it is normal to have a million questions running through your head. Below are some crucial questions to ask your audiologist about your hearing aid fitting.
What Happens in a Fitting session?
It is natural to feel quite apprehensive about a procedure you are new to. However, it is your audiologist’s responsibility to calm your nerves. At the hearing aid fitting, the audiologist will calibrate your devices to suit your preferences and different environments.
Although you have had an earlier hearing test, audiologists may conduct further tests to establish any diagnosis they may have missed earlier. Whatever your audiologist does will be explained in detail to you. That way, you know what to expect.
Should Anything Be Brought to a Hearing Aid Fitting?
Not necessarily. You do not need any material to aid your appointment with the audiologist. However, in most cases, audiologists ask their clients to jot down any questions they may have about hearing aid devices. It can be anything as long as it has to do with the issue at hand. They usually encourage this so that clients will be comfortable with the hearing aid fitting procedure.
Are Hearing Aid Fittings Long Procedures?
The time spent at hearing aid fittings varies among clients. Usually, it can take up to an hour for the fitting to come to an end. However, it would help if you freed up two hours of your schedule for the hearing aid fitting. You are better off expanding the timeframe to make way for unforeseen events. The more time you allow, the less pressured you will be during the fitting. You must know that it is rare for a hearing aid fitting to go beyond an hour.
What Should I Do Before the Appointment?
The most important thing to do in the days or weeks leading up to your hearing aid fitting is to protect your ears. It is prudent to stay away from loud sounds, which can cause even further damage to your inner ear. Assuming this happens, it can alter your earlier results and consequently lead to incorrect device programming. Your audiologist will communicate anything else you are not supposed to do before the fitting.
What Happens After Hearing Aid Fittings?
Your audiologist will want you to try out your hearing aid devices in different environments, which is why they usually schedule a follow-up appointment a few weeks after your first hearing aid fitting. When you come back after a few weeks, your audiologist may alter the device’s settings or not.
Does Insurance Cover the Fitting?
While some audiology appointments are not covered by insurance, you are spared the headache when it’s a hearing aid evaluation. However, any other appointment, especially when it is to do with hearing aids, may not provide that. You may either ask your audiologist or your health insurance provider for details.
Your hearing aid fitting is an opportunity to acquire information on your hearing aid fitting. For a more positive experience, write your questions down to avoid missing out on anything bugging you about the fitting or the hearing aids.
