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How Often Do Hearing Aids Need to be Adjusted or Fine Tuned?

Writer's picture: David EngelmanDavid Engelman

Picture of dials, representative of fine tuning that may be required in hearing aids.

A common misconception about hearing aids is that they require regular fine tuning or “adjusting”, like how a piano requires tuning.  The truth is, if your hearing aids were fitted properly when you first received them, and your hearing loss remains stable, your hearing aids will not require regular fine tuning or adjustments.  At the hearing aid fitting, measurements should be taken of your ears that will verify that the hearing aids are working properly and set for your hearing loss prescription.  Following this, your hearing aids can be further adjusted based on your experience. For example, if they seem too loud, soft, bassy, or tinny, additional adjustments can be made.  However, as your brain won’t be used to hearing through hearing aids, it usually just takes some time to adapt to how they sound.  After wearing your hearing aids for a few weeks and having settled in with them, more adjustments can be made, if necessary.  The hearing aid settings can be personalised and tailored to your unique needs.  Once you’ve completed this initial hearing aid fitting and its subsequent follow-ups (usually all completed within the first few weeks or so of the initial hearing aid fitting appointment), your hearing aids probably won’t need much further adjusting. 

 

What If I Still Feel Like I’m Not Hearing Well?

 

You should feel like your hearing aids are helping you hear and communicate better and more easily.  Unfortunately, hearing aids will not eliminate all hearing challenges, and you may still feel that you struggle to hear more than the average person.  Hearing is a very complex sense that relies not just on the ears but also the hearing nerve and associated neural connections in the brain.  As people age, and as their hearing loss progresses with time, the brain’s ability to process and make sense of what it is hearing declines.  Hearing aids can’t fully compensate for this decline, and therefore some people do still struggle with the clarity of what they are hearing, even while wearing hearing aids.  This of course does not mean to suggest that hearing aids won’t still be beneficial for these people—hearing aids will certainly help a lot; but rather it is important to realise that they are not a perfect treatment for hearing loss.


Therefore, if your hearing aids were initially fitted properly and found to be working well and at the appropriate levels for your prescription, then further adjustments or fine tuning are unlikely to make a dramatic difference in how well you hear or understand people.  If, however, they were found not to be working within the prescription level then your audiologist will need to make the necessary changes to your hearing aids to ensure that they are performing as they should be.  This may be a matter of adjusting the settings on your hearing aids, or it may be a matter of changing some of the physical components of the hearing aid itself.  It may even be determined that the hearing aid you are currently using is just simply not powerful enough for your degree of hearing loss, or perhaps the level of technology of hearing aid you are using is not advanced enough to handle the kinds of environments you typically find yourself in.  In this case, a different model or technology level may be warranted to better suit you, which your audiologist can discuss with you.


Many people also find that the use of hearing aids alone is not always enough to help them hear better, particularly in challenging situations, like a noisy restaurant. If this is the case, it may be worth considering the use of accessories in conjunction with your hearing aids.  You can have an accessory that works as a miniature microphone, allowing easier conversations in noisy places.  Or you can have an accessory that can connect to your TV and stream the sound of the TV directly into your hearing aids.  Accessories like these are often very successful at helping hearing aid users get that extra degree of benefit that they may otherwise be missing out on. 


Lastly, if your hearing loss is particularly severe and you feel that you are not getting enough benefit from your hearing aids, it may be worth considering a cochlear implant.  This is a device that is surgically implanted into the skull and will directly stimulate the inner ear with sound that has been converted into electrical signals.  Many people with severe or profound hearing loss will find they do better with a cochlear implant than traditional hearing aids.  Therefore, it can be worth discussing this with your audiologist, who can make a referral for you to a cochlear implant centre.  A cochlear implant centre will have audiologists who specialise in these devices and can further determine your candidacy and discuss the potential advantages and disadvantages of an implant. 

 

What If My Hearing Gets Worse?

 

Hearing loss unfortunately tends to get worse with time.  This is particularly the case if your hearing loss affects the inner ear (usually associated with age-related hearing loss).  This tends to be a very gradual process but can be monitored via regular hearing reassessments (often done an annual basis in the private sector).  If your hearing is found to have declined, then usually your hearing aids can be reprogrammed with an updated prescription to reflect this change in your hearing.  New measurements can then be taken of your hearing aids to ensure that they are working within specification and meeting the required levels for your hearing prescription.  

 

Conclusion

 

Hearing aids are sophisticated devices that, when fitted properly and tailored to your specific needs, don’t require frequent fine-tuning. Regular adjustments are not usually necessary unless your hearing changes or you experience specific issues with your device. It’s important to remember that hearing aids, while incredibly beneficial, are not a perfect solution to all hearing challenges. Hearing loss, especially as it progresses, can affect not just the ears but also the brain’s ability to process sound. If you are still struggling with your hearing aids, it may be worth considering additional accessories or, depending on the degree of your hearing loss, alternative solutions like a cochlear implant. Keeping all this in mind will help ensure that you are maximizing the benefit you could be getting from your hearing aids.


If you'd like to learn more about the kind of hearing care we provide for our patients at Finchley Hearing, please explore our website and feel free to get in touch with any questions. We're a private, independent audiology practice in London committed to ethical, evidence-based practices and would love to help you on your journey to better hearing.


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