Hear Better

You’re not alone

If you do have hearing loss, then it helps to know that you’re not alone. In fact, you are one of about 500 million people worldwide. In most countries, this means more than 1 in 6 people have some degree of hearing impairment. But it’s reassuring to know that a properly fitted hearing instrument can improve communication in most people with hearing impairment. This means you can be quite confident that there is a solution.

Guide to Better Hearing

Your ease of adapting to hearing instruments is lowered over time, because you are no longer accustomed to normal sounds – the brain simply forgets how to hear normally. Your emotional and psychological state may be further affected.

What is the process?

• Find a reputable Hearing Health Care Professional-

  If you are looking for a local recommendation visit our Hearing Centres page for your area.

• Make an appointment for your hearing test
  The Hearing Care Professional will examine your ears for possible physical causes of hearing loss like excessive wax build-up, infection, or growth. A hearing test will also be performed to measure your ability to detect sounds at various frequencies or pitches. The entire process may take about an hour. It doesn’t hurt and will help your Hearing Care Professional find a solution to suit your particular needs. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and try to be as open and relaxed as possible. The more your Hearing Care Specialist knows about you, the better he or she will be able to help you.

• Choose your hearing aids
  Depending on your test results, your Hearing Care Professional will give you a recommendation of hearing solutions best suited to your hearing and personal needs. Your Hearing Care Professional knows what you need best, but the ultimate decision is up to you.

• Have an impression of your ear made
  If you have chosen a custom hearing instrument, then your Audiologist will take ear impressions, which is an exact duplicate of the contours of your ears. Your ear impression is sent to hearing instrument manufacturers such as us to make your hearing instrument.

• Schedule your fitting
  Your next appointment will be for your Hearing Care Professional to optimally adjust your hearing instrument. The adjustments are done with a computer, based on an audiogram and your own comments. Your audiologist will teach you how to operate your hearing instrument, and how to hear best in different environments. You will also practice inserting and removing your hearing instruments and learn how to clean and care for them.

• Follow up visit(s)
  Wear your new hearing instruments for a few days in your regular surroundings. You may want to keep a diary to record your impressions of the sounds you hear. Based upon how well you can hear in your everyday surroundings, your Hearing Health Care Professional may make additional adjustments to your hearing instruments if necessary.

• Learn to enjoy sound again
  Learning to listen with hearing instruments takes time and a degree of patience in the beginning. You may need to learn to ignore unwanted sounds, just as you used to do with normal hearing. It’s also important to be realistic and not to expect 100% hearing in every situation.