Hearing Check List

Initial visit to our office (meeting with the Hearing Instrument Specialist)

Our office:

• Has convenient business hours.
• Makes it easy to schedule an appointment. 
• Describes our provider's training and experience
• Provides information on demand on up-to-date state licenses. 
• Offers walk-in repair service.

You should:

• Bring a family member, significant other, or friend.
• Take notes during visits.

Medical clearance and other basics

Our office:

• We will ask you to sign a waiver required by the Food and Drug Administration in lieu of a medical exam. (The waiver allows you to exercise the right to make your own decisions but only after stating, for example, that your best health interests would be served if you had a medical evaluation by a licensed physician before purchasing a hearing aid or aids.)

OR:

• Requires a medical examination, or asks if your ears have been checked recently by an ear, nose, and throat doctor or other licensed physicians.

Testing and lifestyle information

Our Specialist:

• Discusses with you the effect of hearing loss on your lifestyle and relationships at home, work, school, or when going out, for example (or has you complete a questionnaire). The questions should include how well you hear conversations on the telephone.
• Asks about your manual dexterity (your ability to handle small batteries or controls, for example) and/or vision problems that might affect your ability to handle hearing aids.
• Gives you the opportunity to discuss your lifestyle, interests, and activities, which might affect the choice of styles and features.
• Gives you the opportunity to discuss the listening situations, such as noisy or large rooms, theaters, or meetings, in which you have the most difficulty hearing. 
• Tests your hearing in a soundproof booth and conducts other hearing tests (to gauge your ability to understand certain words and sentences, for instance). 
• Gives you a copy of the hearing test results and fully explains them.
• Discusses realistic expectations (what hearing aids will and will not do).

Picking brands, styles, features, and controls

Our Specialist:

• Mentions which hearing-aid brands we work with, and why we recommend a particular brand for you.
• Reviews the pros and cons (including cost trade-offs) of different hearing-aid styles and features (such as Bluetooth, remote control, telecoil, feedback suppression, noise reduction, and manual-volume control).
• Considers your personal preferences concerning style, aesthetics, color, cost, and features.

Picking up your new hearing aid

Testing:

• Our Hearing Instrument Specialist conducts a real-ear test to properly adjust the aid as well as other tests of hearing and understanding speech in quiet and noisy environments.

Financial issues and contract details

You:

• Get a written contract detailing the cost of the aids, the cost of the provider's services, unlimited follow-up visits included in the cost (warranty period), the brand and model of the hearing aids, and the date and place of sale.

Our Office:

• Helps you determine what your health insurance will pay toward the aids.
• Mentions other potential ways to offset the cost of your hearing aids. 
• Offers you to purchase loss/damage insurance that will go into effect when the warranty expires, only when you need it. We recommend you contact your Home Owner's or Renter's Insurance company who may at little or no cost add hearing aids to your policy.

Disclosure

Our Office or Specialist:

• Explains and offers written information about the trial period, fees charged if you return the aids within the trial period, options for trying a different model, and whether the trial period is suspended if you have to wait for a repair.
• Explains the length of the warranty period and what is and is not covered (e.g., replacing a lost aid and repairing or replacing a non-functioning ones). 
• Offers to be flexible about the trial period and/or other aspects of purchase.
• Gives you a copy of the product brochure and reviews its contents with you in detail.
• Schedules a follow-up appointment with you to make sure everything is working properly.
• Calls you at home a few days after the initial fitting to see how you are doing.

Proper fitting, adjustment

• Conducts verification tests, may include a real-ear test. This test, also called a real-ear measure, involves placing a thin probe in your ear while you're wearing your hearing aid to measure the match between your hearing loss and the response of your hearing aid.
• Asks you how the hearing aids improve your understanding of others at home, at work, in meetings, in restaurants, and in other quiet and noisy situations.
• Answers your questions and concerns about any discomfort and/or difficulty of use.
• Makes adjustments to the aids based on your comments.
• Teaches you troubleshooting strategies to fix problems yourself.
• Reviews use and maintenance tips.

Using hearing aids with other technologies

• Discusses the compatibility of your aids with cell phones and other cordless phones.
• Discusses using or supplementing your hearing aids with assistive listening devices such as FM and infrared systems, and audio loops.
• Mentions other assistive and safety devices, such as light-up doorbells, special smoke alarms, and vibrating alarm clocks.