Why is it so important to have your hearing aids regularly reprogrammed?

If you have a hearing loss, wearing hearing aids can truly improve your quality of life and general wellbeing. However, this is only the case if they are correctly programmed for your specific hearing loss.

How does a hearing healthcare professional know how to program my hearing aids?

When you go for a hearing consultation, your hearing will be tested and the results will be presented on an audiogram. An audiogram can be used by all hearing healthcare professionals to understand an individual’s hearing loss. It is a visual representation of the results of a hearing test. The hearing loss can be interpreted by hearing care professionals as the audiogram shows the softest level that the individual can hear at different frequencies. This audiogram is then used to program the hearing aids to your specific hearing loss level.

What actually is an audiogram graph?

After a hearing test, your results will be presented on a graph like this, called an audiogram.

As you can see, hearing loss is shown on the audiogram in a graph format. The horizontal axis shows the frequency. Frequency just means the pitch of the sound that is heard. The low pitch sounds are on the left. The highest pitch sounds are all the way at the other end of the axis on the right.

The vertical axis shows the softest (or quietest) level sound at the top with the loudest level sound at the bottom of the vertical axis. When each axis meets, it shows what level you can hear at each specific frequency.

The right and left ears are tested separately. Sometimes they are shown on one graph with 2 lines but as you can see, we use 2 graphs: 1 for each ear. The right ear is always represented with a red o and the left with a blue x.

How often will my hearing be checked?

It’s important to keep up with your 6 monthly hearing check ups.

We advise that everyone has 6 monthly check-ups for their hearing aids. This ensures they are always in tip-top working order. At each of these appointments, your hearing will be tested and your hearing aids reprogrammed to the current hearing loss level.

The good news is that if you purchase your hearing aids with us, you get 2 years’ worth of aftercare appointments included in the price.

If you think you are showing signs that you could need a hearing test, feel free to give us a call. We can discuss your options with you. If you know you are ready to begin your hearing journey, please book in with us on our website.