hearing aid fitting Archives - San Francisco Hearing Center

Real-Ear Measurements and Hearing Aid Verification

Rixon Rouse — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 22:23:10 +0000

Real-Ear Measurements and Hearing aid Verification

by: Rixon Rouse, Au.D. Audiologist at San Francisco Hearing Center

You can buy a suit off the rack, and it might look fine. But a tailor takes your measurements and adjusts it to fit your body. Hearing aids work in a similar way. The device itself may be excellent, but the real difference comes when your audiologist fits it to your ears specifically. That’s where real-ear measurements (REM) comes in.

How Real-Ear Measurements Work and Why It Matters

During your hearing aid fitting, your audiologist places a tiny probe tube in your ear canal alongside your hearing aid. This microphone measures the actual sound levels reaching your eardrum, so the real-ear measurements technology helps ensure accurate hearing aid fitting.

Why does this matter? A suit off the rack fits an average body whereas a tailored suit fits precisely for you. Hearing aid software makes a smart initial estimate from your hearing test results. However, it cannot account for the unique shape and volume of your ear canal. REM is the tailor’s tape measure. It closes the gap between a good guess and a precise fit. Research consistently links verified fittings with better speech understanding and higher satisfaction, with real-ear measurements being one of the most important tools for audiologists.

Hearing aid verification of Smaller In-Ear Style Devices?

Some hearing aids, like Lyric or certain deep-fitting invisible-in-canal (IIC) devices, sit very deep in the ear canal. That depth makes it impractical to place a probe tube alongside them. For these styles, verification takes a different form: coupler-based measurements, validated outcome questionnaires, and structured follow-up to refine the fit over time. Although real-ear measurements are not feasible here, other verification methods are used.

The principle stays the same regardless of device type. Your hearing healthcare professional should have a deliberate plan for confirming your hearing aids work well for you. For most hearing aid styles, REM is the most precise tool in that plan. For deep-fit devices, other methods fill that role. In nearly every situation, some type of hearing aid verification should be considered whenever possible to ensure optimum performance.

A Good Question to Ask

Whether you’re getting hearing aids for the first time or have been wearing them for years, it’s always worth asking:

“How do you verify that my hearing aids are set appropriately for my hearing loss?”

This isn’t a challenge—it’s a conversation starter about your care. Most hearing healthcare professionals welcome it because real-ear measurements can show how well your hearing aids are working in your ear canal.

Our Approach

At San Francisco Hearing Center, verification is part of every fitting. For most devices, we perform real-ear measurements live and review them with you at your appointment. For deep-canal devices like Lyric where REM isn’t feasible, we may use coupler-based verification, validated outcome measures, and a structured follow-up schedule. Different tools, same standard.

Curious what a verified fitting looks like? Real-ear measurements are central to our process for most hearing aids. We’re happy to walk you through it and help you hear what you might be missing.

Probe microphone that measures sound environment close to the eardrum

The Aurical one example of a real-ear measurement system used to verify hearing aid fittings at the San Francisco Hearing Center

The post Real-Ear Measurements and Hearing Aid Verification appeared first on San Francisco Hearing Center.

How to put in hearing aids

Lisa Monardi — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 05:32:41 +0000

One of the secrets to success of wearing hearing aids is learning how to put in hearing aids properly.

If hearing aids are not inserted correctly, they may fall out, hurt the ear, and not provide the benefit of amplification no matter how advanced your hearing aid is.

Custom hearing devices are molded to ears specifically. They are placed in your ears just like doing a jigsaw puzzle. Custom hearing aids fit securely because they don’t compete with glasses or the elastic face mask loops. The anatomy of a patient’s ear canal and the shape and length of the hearing aid canal portion need to be considered when building the hearing aid. A good fit will give both comfort and good sound quality to a patient.

The most popular style of hearing aid for 2021 is the Receiver-in-the ear style (RIC). This type of hearing aid consists of 2 parts. The tiny receiver that goes into the ear and the circuitry that is housed in a tiny case on top of the ear. Some hearing aids are equipped with retention lines to hold the receivers in place while other hearing aids have custom micro-molds to mount the receivers for more precise insertion. Since there is less mass and more venting in the ear canal, the Receiver-in-the-ear style is more comfortable and natural sounding for all day use.

Here is a simplified version of how to insert a RIC hearing aid.

Place the hearing aid behind the top of the ear, where the handles of glasses go. Let the earwire rest comfortably against the ear, close to your head. Note: Right aid (has a red label for right) use right hand. Left aid (has a blue label for left) use left hand.
Insert the ear-tip or custom-mold into the ear canal while holding the earwire against the ear. Then tuck the retention line to the bottom bowl part of the ear.
Run your finger along the earwire and gently push towards your nose to ensure it is seatly properly.

Watch this instructional video for more help.

Don’t attempt to put hearing aids in on your own without in-person instruction first. Stop and contact an audiologist if the hearing aid doesn’t fit properly or causes discomfort, irritation, or redness.

This should be explained in person, with an audiologist guiding a patient through this until it can be done independently. No matter what style the hearing aids is, a professional that knows your ear and your hearing is important for a successful fitting and happy hearing. An audiologist is the best person to help with this process.

by Alice Leung, Au.D. Doctor of Audiology

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Why are Hearing Aid Fittings Important?

SFHC — Sun, 30 Sep 2018 23:02:47 +0000

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with hearing loss, your audiologist likely recommended hearing aids as the best form of treatment. While it may be tempting to purchase your hearing aids online, there are several reasons this isn’t advised. From assistance selecting the right hearing aids to getting the perfect fit and programming, your audiologist is a crucial step in ensuring you get the most out of your hearing aids, starting with the hearing aid fitting.

Why are Hearing Aid Fittings Important?

1. You get the perfect fit

As its name suggests, a hearing aid fitting is where your audiologist will fit the hearing aid for you. This guarantees that you get the perfect fit and that you’re sent home with a device that’s designed specifically for your ear. As far as comfort goes, you will be unable to match the fit unless you attend this appointment.

2. Your hearing aid is programmed for you

Following on from this, your audiologist will also use this appointment to program the hearing aid for you. Not only does this mean you don’t have to try and do it yourself, but it also means you get a device that’s programmed for your specific hearing loss. Different people have different hearing loss problems, which is why we have hearing aid fittings to ensure you get a device that works properly for you.

You get to learn how to use your hearing aid

During a hearing aid fitting, you get taught how to use your hearing aid by a professional audiologist. They will take the device and show you all the buttons and features that you need to be aware of. So, when you go home, you know how to use it and get the most out of it. If you didn’t go to a hearing aid fitting, then you’d have to try and figure all this out by yourself.

You get taught about maintenance and care

Finally, you get taught how to look after a hearing aid when you go to this appointment. Again, this isn’t something you get taught if you just bought a hearing aid online. Sure, there could be instructions on the packaging, but there’s no audiologist next to you showing you what to do. At your hearing aid fitting, your audiologist shows you exactly how to clean your hearing aid, how to care for it, and what you should and shouldn’t do. They may also give you a leaflet full of maintenance instructions, so you don’t forget. As a result, you take better care of your device and ensure it doesn’t break within a few months.

As you can see, hearing aid fittings are absolutely vital. Without one, you will most probably end up paying for a hearing aid that doesn’t fit comfortably, isn’t programmed correctly and you don’t know how to use or look after. It’s always worth taking an hour or so out of your schedule to attend a hearing aid fitting where your audiologist will ensure you leave with a smile on your face and volume in your ears!

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