Hearing Center Network

First, we must evaluate your hearing capabilities and determine the cause of your hearing deficit. To do this, we collect a detailed medical history and conduct a physical examination of the external and middle ear. We refer deficits of non-sensorineural origin (such as indications of an acoustic tumor or infection of the middle ear) to the appropriate clinician for consultation.

The hearing evaluation consists of a number of audiometric tests, each designed to ascertain your residual hearing capacity, as well as measure the ability to understand speech under controlled acoustic conditions.

During this initial session, we will take an impression of your ear to make a customized earmold for you. This piece connects to an instrument that will allow us to precisely present sounds to you, electronically and acoustically, during your next visit.

The second visit focuses on how best to present sound (particularly speech) to you. We perform special tests to assess your auditory capabilities over a broad range of listening conditions using state-of-the-art digital technology.

These tests provide an objective basis with which to select the type of hearing aid most likely to improve your listening capabilities. This process is based on objective methods using sophisticated acoustic-measurement equipment, as well as subjective criteria that largely pertain to speech communication.

The next stage in the fitting involves a demonstration and discussion of the relative merits of various types of hearing aids. This process often requires time and intricate adjustment to accomplish. During the process, you become a knowledgeable participant in the appropriate choice of the hearing aid you will be wearing.

A free consumer guide, listing all of the major manufacturers, styles, types of technology, and general pricing information is available at our office. The price of your hearing aid will depend on the level of technology, manufacturer and style of the product. Generally, the smaller the aid, the more expensive it will be.

Older technology hearing aids usually have only three dispenser-adjustable controls, fifteen transistors, and are the least expensive (and least effective) hearing aids. These hearing aids allow only minor adjustments making them difficult to personalize for your needs, but they do improve the audibility of sound.

Programmable hearing aids, with about six controls and forty thousand transistor equivalents, are priced in the mid-range. The most expensive (and recommended) hearing aids are advanced digital signal processing hearing aids with more than sixty controls and over a million transistor equivalents. Our specialty and unique expertise is using these dispenser-adjustable controls to effectively customize and fine tune your hearing aids.

We can create a natural sound, improve the intelligibility of speech, and provide your best possible hearing experience, even in the presence of background noise. You will be able to verify this during your trial period.

Since each individual’s hearing loss, neurological capability, ear shape, and ear size are different, we must carefully select the style of hearing aid that goes into your ear.

People with severe hearing loss can successfully wear aids that fit snug in the ear. These aids hold in the sound power necessary to overcome more severe hearing losses and eliminate feedback or whistling.

That style of snug-fitting aid, however, is less successful for people with only mild to moderate losses because it blocks the sounds they can still hear, replacing them with processed, sometimes distorted, sounds. These people need a vent in their hearing aids to allow natural sound into the ear canal. This sound blends with the sound from the hearing aid to create a hearing experience that is as close to normal as possible.

Behind-the-ear hearing aids are often the most acoustically and cosmetically successful devices on the market. They contain the most sophisticated technology and we are able to fit and tune these devices most effectively to suit your needs.

In-the-ear hearing aids, of varying sizes, are custom built by the manufacturers. However, because the technology is inside an aid that has been custom-shaped for the inside of your ear, there is very little room for acoustic or physical modifications to the aid itself, which may be important in fine-tuning the aids to your needs.

Fortunately, with today’s high-end, sophisticated devices, there are more adjustment tools available allowing for a sound experience that is as natural as possible.

Hearing aids that fit completely in your ear canal (CIC hearing aids) are frequently chosen for cosmetic reasons: they can’t be seen when they are in your ear. These aids can be tuned so that you will hear quite well in certain environments. But, they currently lack the flexibility to handle many complex noise environments.

Also, because these aids completely block your ear canal, they force you to sacrifice your normal hearing capability for a louder, more unnatural, compromised type of sound.

It is important to understand that selecting the right hearing aid is only part of a successful hearing aid experience. Without proper fitting and tuning, the hearing aid is unlikely to do you much good and could potentially worsen your hearing experience.

Although the most sophisticated hearing aids are able to provide enormous flexibility in sculpting the acoustic signal, it requires a great deal of experience and training to harness this power effectively. A hearing aid can only perform well if it is properly fit to your needs.

Once we have selected the best hearing aids for you, we will work with you to set their controls to optimize your hearing experience, specifically concentrating on comfort, sound quality, and your ability to understand speech in the presence of noise.

We will also program each aid to accommodate your lifestyle as best as possible, with different settings for different types of environments, as well as a setting to improve your telephone communication.

To tune your hearing aids, we will place a small tube into your ear canal and measure the sound that comes into your ear through the hearing aid (and the hearing aid vent, if applicable). This will help us determine how your ear affects the sound that comes out of the hearing aid. We will then adjust each hearing aid’s settings so you hear the fullest range possible in accordance with our earlier analysis of your sound processing and speech comprehension capabilities.

Once you leave our office, you will need to evaluate how your hearing aids work for you out in the real world. We will provide you with an organized strategy that will help you get the most benefit possible from your hearing aids. We will also provide you with as much time as you need to evaluate them.

Typically, the hearing aid fitting process involves two or three appointments for experienced hearing aid users. If you are a first-time hearing aid user, expect to come in for four or five appointments (over an average of six weeks) as you learn to use your hearing aids and work with us to improve your hearing experience.

Things change. Your hearing loss, understanding loss, lifestyle, ear shape, and/or needs may all change over time. All of these things can affect the quality of the sound coming into your ear and your hearing experience. We will address these needs with you as they arise and re-tune your aids accordingly.

Please see us as soon as possible if you notice any decline in your hearing ability. Your hearing aids will also need regular cleaning, maintenance, and evaluation so we can ensure they are operating at their peak performance.

Please come by our office for a free cleaning about once every three months. Your hearing aids may also occasionally need repair. If possible, we will provide you with a loaner hearing aid while your aid is being fixed. (Note: a loaner hearing aid is usually only possible with behind-the-ear hearing aids because in-the-ear hearing aids are unique to each individual.)

We commit to a year of continued service because we are interested in optimizing your performance, satisfaction, and overall experience with hearing aids, thereby contributing to your quality of life. Optional unlimited service is also available.

In addition to the maintenance we provide, your hearing aids come with a manufacturer’s warranty. As a full-service provider, we will notify you before your manufacturer’s warranty expires so you can come in and have the function of your hearing aids evaluated. This way, if repairs are required, we can send your aids to the manufacturer for repair while they are still under warranty.