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New Patients
If you have never had a hearing aid fitted before, you will normally need to attend for three appointments. If you were referred by ENT (your hospital doctor), the items marked with an asterix (*) may have already been carried out by your doctor. In this case, they will probably not need to be repeated by the audiologist.
1. First Assessment Visit (at least 45 min)
This appointment is to check your hearing, and to decide which hearing aid is likely to help you the most. A mould of your ear taken at this appointment will be used to make your hearing aid.
At your first visit, the audiologist will:
- *Take a medical history, including information about your vision and any problems you may have using your hands. This is important to make sure you are given a hearing aid that you will be able to use at home.
- Ask you some questions about how well you can hear in certain situations such as in a busy street, or hearing the television. You will also be asked if there are any other particular situations in which it is important for you to hear clearly.
- *Carry out otoscopy, to look for wax, blockages, or any problems with your ear canal or ear drum which need to be taken into account when fitting an aid.
- *Test your hearing in a sound proofed room. This involves listening to sounds through a set of headphones. [Link for RNID factsheet].
- Talk to you about hearing aids, how you feel about wearing one, and what you expect from it.
- Discuss with you the types of hearing aid that are available, and agree on a particular model.
- Take an impression of your ear. This involves putting a foam block in your ear canal, then putting some putty in using a special syringe. The material takes about 5 minutes to set. This mould will be used to make the in-ear part of your new hearing aid.
- Give you an information leaflet about digital hearing aids.
- Book your next appointment. This will usually be in 4-6 weeks.
During the assessment, the audiologist will enter the results of your appointment directly into the computer.
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