Hearing aid specialist

Hearing aid specialist – is an educated and trained person who is entitled to the selection and adjustment of hearing aids. On the first appointment with a specialist is usually specified a common hearing problems – their typology. It’s measured the smallest sounds that the patient can hear through the headphones. Some different signals is given through the apparatus, and after this, the specialist check up on how clearly is heard this or that signal. The smallest sounds, that a man is capable to perceive (threshold of hearing), will be brought under a special diagram, which is called audiogram. In addition to audiogram, the specialist can do another additional and adjusting test:

– to judge speech discrimination in silence or noise;
– to judge a condition of drum membrane of middle ear, affecting on the incoming sound transmission to the cochlea;
– to estimate the loudest sounds, which will be comfortable for you;
– to ask the questions about the situations, in which you feel the most uncomfortable, so that hearing aid helps you in these moments.

The results of the tests are discussed with the client and on the ground of these data they select style, technology, and additional apparatus option, which compensate hearing loss most of all.

Most hearing aids are made with account of individual client needs, to create comfortable conditions and to improve the quality of the client’s life. Usually, choosing the form of the device, they resort to production of the ear’s cast, so the result is a pattern for making the hearing aid’s body. Hearing aid specialist has all the necessary for this procedure skills and knowledge.

Traditionally, the technology of making a cast is based on physical attributes of the foam that can take different forms. But there can be used another method of design of the cast. A soft alginate is inserted rather deeply in the ear and after fixation it’s taken out with the help of special instruments.

The alginate will become firm rather quickly and the cast of external acoustic meatus that was made is used for production of individual hearing aid.

After the hearing aid is ready, it needs an adjustment. Hearing aid specialist must know how to adjust the hearing aid of any complexity, basing on the audiogram and client’s complaints. Many modern hearing aids have a digital interface for the adjustment. That’s why there also is used computer and special wires in tuning the aid. The wires are needed only for adjusting the hearing aid and are not required their regular connection to the computer.

The specialist must show to the client how to use the hearing aid. It’s important to pay a careful attention to the milestones schedule of the hearing aid’s use: insertion and taking it out, volume adjustment and changing of the hearing program. The specialist must also tell the client how to care for the aid (clean, change the batteries), and to describe basic actions of changing hearing programs, also he must help the client get the hang of the hearing aid that in future he’d be able to use it by himself.

The work of the specialist isn’t finished on the primary adjustment of the hearing aid. It means that the client can visit the specialist with definite periodicity. After the first adjustment the client usually keeps in touch with his specialist and tells him about his feelings about using of the hearing aid. It needs for further adjustments of the hearing aid, i.e. the more accurate adjustment for the clients needs.

The result of several visits to the specialist must be the excellently adjusted hearing aid. It must be in tune with physiological needs of the client and to fit in the lifestyle, in other words, to be a right hand. If the client has additional questions or problems with the usage of the hearing aid – the specialist must come to client’s help and to give him a piece of advise.