Hearing Aid Fittings

Best Practice Leads to Best Results

At Hear So Good, we follow best practices for fitting hearing aids recommended by the Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), the Hearing Loss Association of American (HLAA), and the American Academy of Audiology (AAA).

Best Practices

Our adherence to best practices allows us to consistently provide our patients with the best hearing improvements possible with hearing aids. We follow six standard procedures in our fitting protocols to ensure your success with hearing aids.

Needs Assessment

We will ask you to tell us three specific situations where you would like to hear better and your priorities regarding hearing aid comfort, cosmetics and convenience. Combined with your test results we will determine the benefits that you can realistically expect with hearing aids.

Hearing Aid Selection

Based on the assessment, we will discuss and show you multiple hearing aid options. We will explain the pros and cons of different devices and determine whether you need or want custom ear pieces. In some cases custom ear pieces can have a huge impact on hearing aid benefit and satisfaction.

Ear Impressions

If earmolds or custom hearing aids are advised, we will take safe and painless ear impressions. After inserting a small piece of cotton into your ear canal, a soft silicone mixture is dispensed and allowed to set before being gently removed and sent to a lab for device fabrication.

Real Ear Measurements

Real ear measurements ensure optimal audibility of sounds. This means hearing softer voices well and mumbled voices clearly and distinctly. A soft microphone tube is placed in your ear canal while we play special sounds and tune each hearing aid to a specific prescription for your hearing loss.

Speech Testing

Having the world's best hearing aids won't matter if you can’t hear speech any better. Listening to recorded and calibrated speech following the fitting allows us to verify that you are hearing clearly and that sounds are comfortable. If not, we make further adjustments.

Fine Tuning & User Instruction

After making any clarity adjustments, we ensure that you are instructed on how to use your hearing aids. Proper insertion of the ear pieces is vital for the best performance. We advise you how to keep your devices clean and operating at peak performance. We verify that you can operate the hearing aids and manage the batteries.

Already Have Hearing Aids?

You may already have hearing aids that are not performing as well as you need. They could need cleaning or repair, reprogramming or reconfiguration if your hearing loss has worsened. It is also possible your devices were never optimally configured or programmed.

Whether you purchase hearing aids from Hear So Good Audiology & Hearing Aids, purchased them elsewhere, or inherited or were gifted used hearing aids, we can likely adjust and configure your device for optimal benefit. Just contact us at our Novato or Windsor locations in Marin and Sonoma counties to set up an appointment.