What Is a Hearing Instrument Specialist?

When you live with hearing loss, it can seriously create a rift between you and the world around you. It can quite literally turn down the volume on your life and make it difficult for you to communicate with those closest to you. The sad truth is that by the time many of us start to suspect that our hearing has begun to deteriorate, it has likely been declining for quite some time. We seldom notice hearing loss for a number of years due to its slow and incremental nature.

When it becomes clear, however, that we need help mitigating the effects of our hearing loss, our paths may cross with a hearing instrument specialist. You will need a hearing test to determine what frequencies and pitches you struggle with and those results will help your hearing instrument specialist recommend the right device to you.

What does a hearing instrument specialist do?

Your hearing instrument specialist will use the data from your hearing tests results to calibrate your best hearing aid options. A hearing instrument specialist is conversant in a wide range of different hearing instrument with subtly different capabilities, which are matched to your particular needs. They will use this knowledge to recommend a device to suit your needs.

Additionally, a hearing instrument specialist is an expert in hearing aid care, maintenance and repairs. They will show you how to properly insert and remove your devices, how to clean them and what to do if they get damaged. Many hearing instrument specialists can perform routine repairs in their office, which means you won’t have to go without your devices for very long.

What will influence my hearing instrument specialist’s recommendations?

You are the single biggest factor in influencing their recommendations. The hearing instrument specialist will match the implement to you, rather than the other way around. They will take into account not only the nature of your hearing loss but your lifestyle and personal preferences. For example, they may be able to recommend in-ear instruments if you’d rather not have a visible hearing aid. They can recommend hearing aids, which have proven effective against the particular cause of your hearing loss.

As you can see, a hearing instrument specialist is a key figure in helping you find your way back to healthy hearing.