Live Speech Mapping Explained
Advancements in technology are continually changing things around us. This ongoing evolution of technology impacts much of our lives. Entertainment, communication, medicine, and even hearing healthcare are all benefiting from new technologies.
Hearing specialists can access increasingly sensitive tools to diagnose and treat their patient’s hearing loss. The traditional hearing assessment used to consist of a patient listening to a series of beeps and sounds. Their ability to hear, or not hear, the beeps and sounds helped underling the patient’s baseline hearing ability. The results would then allow the hearing specialist to assess if hearing aids were needed or not.
If a patient is advised to wear hearing aids, ensuring that the aid is well fit and effective is important. To help make sure the patient walks out with the ideal hearing device, hearing healthcare specialists have a series of tools they can use. One of these tools is known as live speech mapping.
Live Speech Mapping Explained
Live speech mapping is a method of ensuring that a hearing aid is programmed correctly for the wearer. No two people will experience hearing loss in the same way, therefore adjustments to the hearing aid device are important.
How Does Live Speech Mapping Work?
Live speech mapping works by placing a small microphone in the patient’s ear canal. As incredible as it sounds, this microphone allows the hearing specialist to effectively “see” what the patient is hearing. Using real-time readings from the hearing aid, the hearing specialist makes the necessary adjustment.
Live speech mapping involves a loved one. Why? It helps provide the hearing healthcare professional with a third-party view on how any adjustments are affecting the patient’s hearing. Throughout this process, results are displayed on a screen. This ensures both the family member and hearing specialist can see how the impact of the adjustments!
Live speech mapping improves the chances of getting the device adjustments right the first time around. Plus, there’s the added benefit of the patient having a loved one close by for moral support.
How is Live Speech Mapping Beneficial?
Traditionally, the methods of fitting a hearing device were not ideal. Hearing healthcare specialists would use the results from a hearing assessment. Using these results, they would adjust the hearing aid device. Patients often had to return to the hearing clinic to have their devices readjusted. Sometimes, patients would have to revisit the clinic multiple times. Live speech mapping allows the hearing professional to adjust the device during the original fitting. It helps improve the effectiveness of the patients’ hearing aid.
It can take some time to adjust to a new hearing aid. This means patients are not always able to immediately notice if their hearing device is adjusted correctly. Live speech mapping lets the patient literally see how their hearing is impacted by the adjustments.
At HearingLife (formerly Family Audiology), We’re Here to Help You!
Treating a hearing loss can have a dramatic impact on quality of life. With such an impact, it’s important for patients to find the right hearing device. Contact us today to schedule an appointment with our hearing care professionals.