How to Prepare for a Hearing Aid Appointment

If you’ve decided it’s time to try hearing aids, pat yourself on the back. It’s a decision that often takes years for people to make and is a big step forward—but it’s not the only step. Once you have scheduled an appointment with a hearing healthcare professional, there are few more things you should consider as you prepare for your hearing aid appointment. Use this hearing aid appointment checklist as a guide.

Are you prepared for your hearing aid appointment?

Take steps to make sure you get the best hearing aids for your hearing profile and lifestyle.

• Make a list of the situations that are challenging due to your hearing loss, such as talking on the phone, conversations in crowded restaurants, watching TV at a normal volume, etc.
• Tell the hearing healthcare professional about the things you do most often (attend meetings, dine in restaurants, listen to music in the car) so that the best hearing aids can be prescribed for you.
• If you can, bring someone along to your appointment to take notes and help process the information. It can be a lot to take in!
• Make sure the hearing healthcare professional shows you the capabilities and functions of your hearing aids such as feedback reduction, directional microphones, multiple channels for sound equalization, Bluetooth® capability and T-coils that allow you to pair with hearing loops. Hold on to the user guide for future reference.
• If you have tinnitus, be sure to get hearing aids with tinnitus masking (most new hearing aids have this feature).
• If you have a captioned telephone or other assistive hearing technology with Bluetooth® capability, make sure you understand how to pair your hearing aids with those devices.
• Remember to go back for hearing aid adjustments if you feel they aren’t working as well as you’d like.

Hearing aid appointments involve more than just hearing tests. Before you go, be sure you know what questions you’ll need to answer and ask.