What Does a Hearing Instrument Specialist Do?

When you’re having problems with your hearing and you want to put it right with a modern hearing instrument, it’s important to consult the specialists. You’ll be surprised by how much can be achieved in terms of improving your hearing if you do have an instrument fitted. The people who will help you out with all this are called hearing instrument specialists.

Before you go any further, you probably want to find out a little more about what hearing instrument specialists actually do and how they can help you out when you’re suffering from problems with your hearing. It’s only natural to want to be clear on this, so you should read on now and learn about what they do and why you should make the most of their expertise.

Testing and assessing a patient’s hearing

The first thing that has to be done by a hearing instrument specialist when they’re working with a new patient is assessing and testing that person’s hearing. This is the only way to get a clear picture of what the person’s hearing problem is and how they can be dealt with going forward. No action can be taken until they know what the problem is.

The most common type of test carried out by the hearing instrument specialist is known as an audiogram. This assesses both of the patient’s ears and decides what the extent of the hearing loss is in each of them. It’s an important test because it lets the hearing specialist know which next steps need to be taken in order to improve the patient’s hearing.

The testing and assessing process won’t normally take too long and any professional hearing instrument specialist will know how to sort things out quickly. For the patient, the treatment and the solution is the more pressing matter, so your specialist won’t waste your time.

Helping the patient select a suitable hearing aid

The next part of the hearing instrument specialist job is to find the patient a suitable hearing aid. The test results from the previous part of the process will help them to do this. Alongside the patient, the right kind of hearing aid will be chosen. It could be an in-ear hearing aid or a hearing aid that sits on the outside of the ear.

There are pros and cons associated with each different type of hearing aid and your hearing instrument specialist will talk you through all of those benefits and drawbacks so that you can make an informed decision. In the end, it will be your decision to make but it’s much easier to do that when you’re being guided by a professional with your best interests at heart.

The type of hearing aid you choose won’t necessarily impact the quality of your hearing going forward. Instead, it’s more about how you wear it, how concealed it is and how comfortable it is for you. When it comes to correcting your hearing, what’s more important is how the hearing aid is programmed and we’re going to talk about that next.

Fitting and programming the hearing aid

The programming process is about finding the exact settings for the device that will allow it to work for the patient. Every patient has a different hearing situation and different levels of hearing loss, among other problems. That’s why it’s important for the hearing instrument specialist to create a bespoke solution that works for the individual.

There are many advanced technologies and sound systems that are used to find the right balance when programming hearing aids. This is something that has changed and improved a lot in recent years thanks to advancements and developments in modern hearing aid technology. It’s improved the precision of the process.

Finally, there’s the fitting process, which is when the patient actually has their new, bespoke hearing instrument solution put in place for the first time. From there, they can start using it each day and feeling the benefits. More adjustments can be made as the patient starts using it and finds out what’s working well and what can be improved upon going forward.

The hearing instrument specialist at Modern Hearing can evaluate your symptoms and help you get the treatment you need. Call us at one of our three offices to find out more about how our hearing instrument specialist can help you hear better:

• Green Bay: (920) 434-6800
• New London: (920) 982-3313
• Shawano: (715) 524-4242