When it comes to a hearing aid fitting follow-up appointment and what to expect, you can rest assured knowing it won’t be much different than your initial fitting appointment. Prior to your follow-up appointment, make notes and questions in regards to your hearing aids and what you have noticed since you have gotten them. Remember no question is silly or dumb. Write everything down that you notice or questions between your appointments; this will help you understand the world around you as you go about your daily life and adapt to your surroundings. Furthermore, it will also help your audiologist understand what you have gone through between the two appointments.

Your experiences with hearing aids

During your follow-up appointment you and your audiologist will go over the time you spent with your hearing aids between the appointments. This is the point at which you bring out your notes and discuss your findings, observations and questions with your audiologist. Your audiologist will help to give clarity and answers to your findings, observations and questions since your last appointment. This information will drive the rest of the appointment.

How to use your hearing aids

Depending on what you discuss at the beginning, your audiologist may want to go over a few key points from the initial appointment, just to refresh your memory and to ensure you are taking care of your hearing aids properly. He or she may go over how to care and clean your hearing aids, how to change your battery and how to know when your battery needs to be changed. You may also receive a refresher course on the programs on your hearing aids and what they are for and how to change them.

Making adjustments

Your audiologist will also ask you some questions about the time between your appointments to gain more clarity for themselves and how you use your hearing aids and how your hearing aids are affecting your life. If needed, your audiologist can make changes to the programing of your hearing aid; changing the number of programs, specific programs and volume levels as needed. If needed he or she can also make changes to the fit of your hearing aids; such as shaving down pressure points, changing the tubing length, changing domes and tubing type as needed. If lots of changes were made to your hearing aid during the follow-up appointment it is recommended to make another appointment sooner than later to follow-up again with your audiologist. If no changes were made that is great but to remember to check in with your audiologist at least every six months to one year to ensure your hearing aid(s) are working well for you.