Probe-Microphone Verification of Hearing Aids

Verifying that the soft speech sounds will be heard...

According to The Better Hearing Institute; http://betterhearing.org; "the key reason for hearing aids in the drawer include poor benefit, poor fit and comfort, and unsatisfactory hearing in noise". At the Pennsylvania Ear Institute, our Doctors recognize the importance of verifying the prescriptions used in your devices, and that verification relates directly to  the success you will experience with the instruments.

While the technology in hearing instruments has seen tremendous advancements in recent years, the success of the devices remains dependent on the Audiologist's ability to adjust the amplification's prescription; customizing sound to the patient's hearing loss. Probe-microphone measures allow our Audiologist to 'see' how much volume their prescription has provided and manipulate sounds in a way that will optimize your ability to hear them again. With this technology, we are able to objectively determine if the volume and acoustic properties of the devices meet your individual needs.

At the time of your hearing instrument fitting, our Audiologists will place a small microphone into your ear canal just before  inserting your hearing instrument. Following this, the function of the devices will be monitored using a live speech stimulus. The probe-microhone allows us to 'see' how the hearing instrument processes and amplifies sound as it travels through the device and through your ear canal. In this way, we can ensure that we have increased the volume of soft speech sounds, sufficiently allowing you to hear the sounds you have been missing. By verifying the performance of our Audiologist's perscription we have observed a significant increase in the satisfaction ratings reported by our patients!

The Better Hearing Institute's "Market Track VIII: The Impact of the Hearing Healthcare Professional on Hearing Aid User Success" reports that only 23% of hearing healthcare professionals use this technology considered critical to hearing instrument satisfaction. If you purchased your hearing instruments at facilty that did not use probe-microphone measures to verify your hearing instruments performance, our Audiologists would be glad to perform this study on your current devices. Many times, the performance of your devices can be vastly improved simply by reprogramming the volume settings to allow you to hear the soft speech again!

DON'T DELAY!  Let the Audiologists of the Pennsylvania Ear Institute begin providing you with the HEARING SOLUTIONS you need to improve the quality of your life!   

HEAR BETTER;  LIVE BETTER!