Your Hearing Journey
At Audiology Medical Services, your patient journey is at the heart of everything. From the moment you ring to book your initial consultation, to your patient rehabilitation and follow-up sessions after your hearing aid fitting, we exceed every expectation and are proud to have built lifelong relationships with our past clients based on our premium standards and hands-on family-friendly practices.
Hearing aids are a large investment. We believe your ears are just as important as your eyes or teeth. Ensuring your new devices are fitting correctly and working properly is vital as the benefit delivered from hearing aids is totally dependent on how well customised they are to your ears, your level of hearing loss and your lifestyle.
We have invested in state-of-the-art equipment to deliver a comprehensive battery of tests and fitting processes that represent international best clinical practice. We find the right solution for each person and guide them through each stage of their journey to ensure they are benefiting from the maximum results available.
Your First Consultation with Audiology Medical Services
It is important to remember that each person’s hearing needs are unique. Just because you may have the same type of hearing loss as the person sitting next to you, does not mean you will require the same treatment plan or hearing instruments. Your initial meeting with our audiology team is an opportunity for you to relay all your hearing concerns, challenges and difficulties. We will spend time chatting with you in a relaxed environment, asking you a few easy questions to capture a full picture of your everyday lifestyle. This information will enable us to log any signs of hearing loss, and help us to understand your individual hearing needs, along with your goals and expectations.
Our next step will be to examine the general health of your ears by inspecting them with an otoscope for any abnormalities in the ear drum or canal. Obstructions such as wax or infection may be contributing factors to your hearing loss. Once we are satisfied with this evaluation, you will undergo a few simple auditory tests to diagnose your level of hearing loss and its type.
After we have carried out a full inspection of your ear canal and ruled out the possibility of an obstruction or infection, your audiologist will begin diagnosing the type and severity of your hearing loss with one of the most common hearing examinations; a Pure Tone Audiometry test.
During this simple evaluation, a series of varying tones will be played via earphones in a sound-proof room. Your audiologist will ask you to signal to indicate when you have heard a sound. These results will be plotted on an audiogram. Depending on the type of hearing loss diagnosed, you may be required to undergo further analysis including; a Speech Audiometry test or a QSIN test.
Speech in Noise Test
A Quick Speech in Noise test (QSIN) measures the inability to hear speech in noise by determining the quietest level you can understand correctly amidst background noise. This is an important follow-up examination in succession to your Pure Tone Audiometry test, as two people with the same level of hearing loss will have completely different abilities to understand speech in background noise.
Following your diagnosis, we will recommend the best device to suit your type of hearing loss, lifestyle needs and budget. Choosing the right hearing aid for YOU is of the utmost importance, and your hearing care specialist will guide you in the right direction to ensure you enjoy the maximum benefits, resulting in a sound-rich life.
Technology
As an independent audiology centre with no ties to any one manufacturer, we offer a range of hearing devices and accessories to suit your individual needs. We collaborate with some of the world’s leading developers and distributors to bring state-of-the-art and trusted technology to our patients. From wireless technology to smart devices and the invisible Lyric 24/7 extended wear hearing aid, you are guaranteed to find the perfect fit at Audiology Medical Services.
Style & Comfort
Our adherence to UK best practice standards means Audiology Medical Services is committed to staying at the forefront of the latest technological advances and we are passionate about consistently evolving our highly-skilled team through continuous education. We only offer the most modern hearing devices on the market to ensure we can deliver the appropriate style to suit your needs and ear canal shape.
Price
The advantage of being an independent audiology practice means we can offer you a variety of hearing instruments with varying price ranges to suit your budget. We will show you several options from these different ranges and discuss the best choice for you.
If your new hearing aids are ill-fitting, they will be of no benefit to you whatsoever. In line with our commitment to providing best practice patient care at Audiology Medical Services, we only use the most advanced technology on the market to ensure you enjoy a premium experience and get the results you desire.
This is why we use the Aurical fitting and testing system from our equipment partners at GN Otometrics. The Aurical has set the industry standard for hearing testing and hearing aid fitting equipment.
When we receive your hearing aids from the manufacturer, they are pre-programmed to default factory settings. This means we will need to adjust each device in coordination with your individual hearing needs before you leave our clinic and begin to enjoy this exciting new chapter in your life. Our state-of- the-art fitting suites allow us to verify your hearing aids in real time to ensure you are getting exactly what you need, when you need it. Verification is an essential step in the completion of this process. To verify your hearing aids accurately, we conduct three methods: Real Ear Measurement, Visual Speech Mapping and Virtual Reality Simulations.
Once your hearing device has been fitted, we verify the performance of the hearing aids in your ears and fine-tune any signal issues. These tweaks and adjustments are vital to ensure you are getting the maximum benefits available to hear more clearly and sharper than ever before.
Real Ear Measurement
We use Real Ear Measurement to measure the frequency shaping of your digital hearing device while it sits on your ear. The individual shape and size of your ear canal and how it affects the sound will be taken into account. Your audiologist will place tiny probe microphones inside the ear to analyse the exact levels of sound arriving in your eardrum. The output from the microphone will in turn be displayed visually on a screen for you to see.
Visual Speech Mapping
To monitor whether your new hearing aids are delivering your exact requirements, our Aurical Speech Mapping allows us to see exactly what the devices are doing with speech. This verification method enables us to change and define the instrument’s signal to serve you better.
Virtual Surround Sound
Virtual reality simulation is invaluable in measuring the performance of your hearing aids’ noise reduction features. We understand that many of our patients find everyday hearing situations the most challenging, such as a noisy restaurant or a busy office working environment. Our virtual surround sound system allows us to recreate these difficult background noises in a live setting at our clinic. During this analysis, we can verify and adjust the programming of your hearing aids to a fit you are comfortable and happy with.
Before you leave our clinic, we will complete the fitting stage of your journey by giving you a full demonstration of how to handle and clean your new device. We will answer any queries you may have and see that you are fully-equipped to return home using your new hearing aids with confidence.
Upon first wearing your hearing aids, the rush of new noises and sounds may be overwhelming. You will now hear sounds you have not heard in years and your brain will need apt time to process this whirlwind of new information. It is generally wise to become acclimatised to these changes by slowly building up the usage of your devices. Start by wearing them for short periods of time during the day and introducing them into different social environments, until you become comfortable and confident enough to wear them successfully all the time.
When you first start wearing your hearing aids, you may notice some of the below:
- Consonants such as ‘s’, ‘t’, and ‘ch’ will sound more defined
- Speech, music and television will sound much louder than before
- Your own voice may sound different
- You will now hear sounds that may have been inaudible before, such as a clock ticking or a bird singing
As you adjust to normal daily life with your new devices, it will become more apparent where your hearing care specialist will need to make changes and fine-tune your settings. We recommend that each patient keeps a strict diary of these initial few weeks, taking note of any specific issues or situations where you experienced any difficulties. This list will be very useful for your next follow-up visit at our clinic, where your audiologist can review your adjustment period and take any necessary steps to rectify your problems.
By now, you will hopefully have adjusted to a life with better hearing and become more comfortable wearing your new device. However, it is important to note that your hearing may change over time and you may need to readjust the technical settings of your device accordingly. At Audiology Medical Services, we pride ourselves on our high standards of patient aftercare. For many, this will be a lifetime journey, and we are passionate about being with you every step of the way.
Continuous Professional Support
You can’t put a price on peace of mind, and that is why we take full responsibility for your hearing aid at Audiology Medical Services. You can relax in the knowledge that if anything goes wrong, we will stand over any repairs and do our utmost to return them in full working order as quickly as possible. Depending on your individual case, we may supply you with a device on loan while your own is being fixed.
Providing excellent patient aftercare is a core resolution with each member of our team and we persistently strive to exceed this promise. We invite you to come into one of our nationwide clinics at your leisure if your device ever needs readjusting or fine tuning. No query is too silly, and we will be delighted to offer any assistance possible.
Your Aftercare Appointment Plan
A regular follow-up plan with our audiology team is vital to encourage the continued success of your new hearing device. Your first visit will take place a few weeks after your initial fitting, meaning you will have had a considerable amount of time to adapt to life with your new instrument. This meeting is an excellent opportunity to flag any concerns or teething problems you may have had. After listening to your feedback, your hearing care specialist may decide to fine tune your device to improve your overall user-experience and the device’s sound quality.
Following this, we will invite you to attend six monthly ‘check ups’ during the lifetime of your hearing aid to analyse its performance and measure how effectively it is working for you. An annual assessment will also be scheduled into our diary to re-examine your hearing, ensuring you will enjoy the maximum benefit of your device for years to come.
