Live Speech Mapping
For decades, the process of fitting hearing aids has involved return visits to your hearing care professional. This is because it takes some time to find out how your hearing aids actually sound to you! What sounds good in a hearing care provider’s office may not sound as good when you’re outside in the real world. At The McGuire Hearing Center, we are happy to make as many fitment adjustments as you require, but we also know you’ll be happier if your hearing aids work better for you right from the start!
No two hearing losses are the same. It’s vitally important that we understand the depth and nature of your specific hearing loss, and how your hearing aids are sounding to your ears. While hearing aid manufacturers’ software allows us to easily program your new hearing aids to meet the needs discovered in your hearing test, we can never be sure that that is what you are actually hearing. That’s because no two ear canals are shaped exactly the same, and your ear canals may significantly alter the sound that comes out of your hearing aids.
What Is Live Speech Mapping?
Live speech mapping lets us verify in real-time that your hearing aids are working for your individual needs, while providing a more interactive and familiar experience in our office.
Everyone’s ear canals are shaped a little differently, and this always affects the way your hearing aids sound. While we fit your hearing aids, we will insert tiny microphones into your ear canal, between the receiver of your hearing aid and your eardrum. This lets us measure the way your hearing aids are actually working in your ears, not just by the guidelines provided by the manufacturer. This portion of the process is known as “real ear measurement,” and is the gold standard when it comes to creating an accurate fitment.
How Live Speech Mapping Helps
Live speech mapping has vastly increased the accuracy that it is possible to achieve on a first fitment visit. Rather than relying solely on your subjective sense of the fitment, we are now also able to objectively “see” how you are actually hearing. While, ultimately, the fitment you leave with is still determined by what sounds comfortable to you, it’s easier to reach that goal when we can start with a more objectively accurate fitment to meet the needs established by your hearing test.
Make an appointment today to find out more about how live speech mapping can help you get the most out of your hearing aids!
Have Questions?
Reach out today, the staff at The McGuire Hearing Center are here and proud to serve the residents of Dayton, Ohio, and surrounding communities.