Treating hearing loss is a process—not a one-time event. You may have experienced hearing loss for decades before realizing it and getting help. Hearing aids are not like glasses, where putting them on suddenly allows you see clearly. Your brain needs time to adjust to the new signals sent to it from your ears.

Our Audiologist's professional fitting of your hearing aids, in accordance with following best practices, is a crucial part of making sure your brain receives the right level of sound for your specific hearing loss. To make sure your hearing loss prescription is met, we utilize a method known as Real Ear Measurement (REM).

Most hearing aid manufacturers use a default programming target formula for their hearing aids. The problem is it's not tailored to the patient's hearing loss or ear shape/size. Like a one-size-fits-all T-shirt, the fit is less accurate than most hearing aid users would like. 

As such, we use the Real Ear Measurements when fitting our hearing aids. 

What is Real Ear Measurement?

With Real Ear Measurements, you'll receive the specific amplification level required to produce the biggest potential hearing improvement.

Here's how we fit your hearing aids using Real Ear Measurement: 

1. We calibrate probe-microphones that are placed, first, outside the opening to your ear, then inside each ear canal.
2. After that, we place your hearing aids into your ears. 
3. Next, sounds are played. The hearing aid picks up and processes these sounds.
4. The probe microphones pick up the processed sound so that we can examine and adjust it, using real ear measuring software.
5. We can then check the accuracy of your hearing aid settings and adjust them as needed to ensure your hearing aid prescription is being met.
   

Benefits of Real Ear Measurement

This method of fitting hearing aids is the only way to quantitatively measure how you are experiencing the hearing aid sound, and how your brain translates it into meaningful information. 

REMs are more scientific

A regular hearing aid fitting appointment will involve a hearing professional fitting your hearing aids and then asking you how it sounds. This is a subjective procedure that isn't always accurate. REMs allows us to make accurate adjustments tailored to your specific hearing loss.

REM is tailored to your own ears

Hearing aid manufacturers release their hearing aids and offer amplification settings based on the average ear size and shape. By contrast, Real-ear measurements allow us to tailor the hearing aid to your specific ear shape and size. The results of real-ear testing allow us to program your hearing aids according to what's best for you, not just what's best for people with a similar hearing loss or someone with an average-sized ear canal. 

Industry insiders consider REMs to be the gold standard of fitting hearing aids. However, according to a study published in the Hearing Review, only about one-third of hearing professionals regularly fit patients with REM equipment. This means that up to 60% of hearing aid wearers use devices that aren't correctly fitted for their ears.

We are delighted to be one of the few hearing practices performing Real Ear Measurements. To set up a hearing aid fitting appointment, contact us today!