Just as no two people are the same, no two people have the same kind of hearing loss. The shape of your ear canal, the type and extent of your hearing loss, and other factors can affect how well your hearing aids work. Speech mapping allows the professionals to program your hearing aids to account for how you hear and interpret sounds in a real-world way.

Traditional testing

Pure tone hearing tests involve beeps and whistles that don’t always reflect the way you hear and interpret sounds in the real world. And similar tests that attempt to determine your ability to hear speech and sounds through background noises can also be unsatisfactory. None of these tests really reflect the complex and individual way you hear in your day-to-day life.

Hearing aids aren’t generally custom made. If you wear hearing aids, other men and women likely wear devices that are similar to yours. That’s not usually the problem. The issue is programming. How your hearing aids are programmed is what makes them work well for you. Live speech mapping is the best way to make sure your devices work the best they possibly can.

How live speech mapping works

Live speech mapping involves placing tiny microphones in your ear canal. The microphones then send the sounds to a program that translates the sounds into a visual representation. You and your audiologist can then see how sounds reach your ears.

Another difference between more traditional hearing tests and live speech mapping is that you’re asked to bring a family member along. Having someone you’re familiar with speak to you can further help your audiologist gauge how well your hearing aids are working.

Save time and money

In addition to helping provide detailed, useful information to make sure your hearing aids are programmed perfectly for you, there are other benefits of live speech mapping.

Because live speech mapping is more accurate than other tests used for programming hearing aids, you probably won’t need several visits to get your devices programmed properly. You’ll save time and money.

The whole process is more immediate as well. You’ll immediately perceive changes as your audiologist makes adjustments based on your testing. Since there’s less uncertainty, you won’t have to leave the office wondering if your hearing aids are working properly.

Hearing well, and being confident that you are, can be life-changing. Regardless of your age, being able to accurately hear can improve your work or school life, your personal relationships, and your ability to enjoy activities.

If you’d like to learn more about live speech mapping, book an appointment online or over the phone today and get your hearing aids programmed specifically for your unique body.