Hearing aid fitting and follow up appointments Flashcards
What are the four types of adult rehabilitation appointments?
- Direct referral: first-ever assessment
- Reassessment: assessment existing user
- Fitting: issuing hearing instrument
- Follow up: measuring benefit and use
What are the main things that happen in a direct referral appointment?
- History: onset and progression of symptoms, difficult listening situations, lifestyle and occupation, expectations and management
- Assessment: questionnaires, otoscopy, PTA
- Decision making: use results to identify hearing goals and management options, discuss advantages and disadvantages of options
What are the main things that happen during a fitting appointment?
- Selection and programming: selection of appropriate hearing instrument and settings, programming, checking mould fit
- Verification and fine tuning: REMs, test box or RECD, fine tuning, activation of additional programmes and controls
- Patient instruction: practice insertion, explanation of controls, maintenance, follow up, and how to access repairs and servicing
What are the main things that happen in a follow up appointment?
- History: hearing aid use and benefit, remaining difficulties and any problems with operating and maintenance of the hearing aids
- Assessment: benefit questionnaires, REMs/ test box/ RECD
- Decision making: identify remaining hearing goals, fine tuning, changing programmes and settings, additional management options and further intervention
What are the main things that happen at a reassessment appointment?
- History: difficult listening situations, history of hearing aid use and likes/ dislikes about current hearing aids, lifestyle and occupation, expectations and management
- Assessment: questionnaires, otoscopy, PTA, explain test results and relate to symptoms
- Decision making: identify hearing goals and management options, advantages and disadvantages of options, reprogramming or replacement of hearing aids
After fitting/ adjusting hearing aids, what subjective checks should be performed?
-Quality of your voice
-Quality of their voice
-Stand behind the hearing wearer and ask them unpredictable questions in a moderate and then quiet tone
-Clap hands loudly next to the hearing aid to ensure loud sounds are not uncomfortably loud
What features of the new hearing aid should be explained to the hearing aid wearer?
-The hearing aid controls
-How to obtain, insert, remove and dispose of batteries
-Indicate the expected battery life of the hearing aid
-How to maintain and clean the hearing aid, earpiece and wax guards, how often to replace tubing and obtain tubing replacements
-The acclimatisation process and how to wear the hearing aids in order to acclimatise to them
-How to use the hearing aids with the telephone and demonstrate