If you have hearing loss, getting help is as easy as making an appointment with ENT Specialists. We’ll take you through the steps of evaluating your hearing, recommending the proper hearing aids and then programming and adjusting your devices, so they fit comfortably and deliver sound the way you want to hear it. Hearing is highly individualized, so our services are always highly personalized.
Hearing Aid Evaluations
An evaluation for hearing aids begins with a review of your medical history, a look at your current medications and supplements and a discussion of the situations in which you find hearing clearly to be a challenge.
You’ll then undergo a series of tests to determine the nature of your hearing loss and identify what sounds you can hear clearly and what sounds you are missing. These tests are completely painless and take less than an hour to complete.
The results of your hearing tests are plotted on an audiogram. This is a visual representation of your ability to hear. The doctor will review the audiogram with you and make a recommendation of a hearing aid style with the features and functions that meet your hearing needs, lifestyle, budget and any special considerations such as cosmetic concerns or difficulties with dexterity or vision.
If the style of hearing aid requires a custom earmold, an impression will be taken. Like the hearing tests, this procedure is painless and only takes a short amount of time. Your hearing aids will then be ordered from the manufacturer.
Hearing aid fitting
Your hearing aid fitting appointment will most likely be the longest appointment you have with ENT Specialists. During this appointment, the doctor will confirm the factory-set programs and then adjust and fine-tune the devices, so they deliver sounds the way you want to hear them.
You’ll learn how to insert and remove your hearing aids properly, how to store them when not in use and how to perform routine maintenance like changing batteries and cleaning the devices.
Like wearing eyeglasses, wearing hearing aids requires a small period of adjustment. You’ll be given instructions on how to best adjust to wearing your hearing aids and what family members and friends can do to help make the process easier.
Live speech mapping
ENT Specialists uses live speech mapping to confirm and adjust your hearing aid programming. We recommend that you bring a friend or family member to the hearing aid fitting appointment so they can participate in the live speech mapping. During the process, a small microphone is inserted into your ear along with the hearing aid so the audiologist can see how the sounds are being received by the hearing aid in your ear. The familiar voice of your family member or friend is used to make the adjustments until you hear sounds as comfortably and naturally as possible.
Hearing aid repair
Your new hearing aids are covered by a warranty against loss or damage. If you have a problem with your hearing aids, bring them into our office. Most times, we can make the repair while you wait. If your devices must be returned to the manufacturer, we’ll take care of that for you.
Even if your hearing aids are no longer under warranty or if you didn’t buy them from us, we can still make most repairs. Bring your hearing aids in for an evaluation.