Live Speech Mapping
For many years, hearing aid evaluations included the strange experience of listening to a selection of beeps and weird noises. It also took a few appointments to get a hearing aid working perfectly.
As technology has progressed, audiologists now have access to much more sophisticated methods. These allow them to fine-tune hearing aids more quickly than ever before, to rapidly adapt them to the individual needs of wearers, and to reduce the number of appointments needed to get things right.
One of the most advanced techniques available today is live speech mapping. In this method, a hearing aid wearer listens to real speech, their audiologist can see exactly what they are hearing through their device, and can adapt its settings in real time.
How Does Live Speech Mapping Work?
Everybody’s hearing is different, and so everyone needs their hearing aid to be set up differently. In a live speech mapping appointment, tiny microphones are placed in the ear canal, and these allow your audiologist to see precisely how you hear sound through your hearing aid.
This might sound invasive or painful, but don’t fear. Whilst having small microphones in your ear can feel strange at first, there is no pain involved, and you will quickly forget that they are there.
Besides these microphones, live speech mapping makes use of another very sophisticated piece of technology: one of your friends or family members!
During your appointment, they will serve as a gauge of sorts. Specifically, your audiologist will ask your companion to speak to you in order to better assess how well you can hear voices that are talking live, right in front of you.
During this process, your hearing care professional will use a computer to visualize the sounds that your hearing aids are picking up. Sometimes, they will even show these to you on a screen. They can make adjustments to your device in real time, and so you should be able to hear the difference immediately.
The Benefits of Live Speech Mapping
There are multiple benefits of live speech mapping. Because both you and a family member are involved in the process, the task of setting hearing aids correctly can become a joint enterprise.
Because your hearing care professional can also adjust the settings of your device in real time, you will also be able to hear these differences immediately. If you have had hearing loss for a few years, it can sometimes be difficult to understand exactly what you can and cannot hear, and so many people find that a live speech mapping appointment gives them a lot of insight into their hearing loss.
On a more pragmatic level, live speech mapping can significantly reduce the number of appointments needed to get a hearing aid working correctly, saving you trips to the audiologist!
Finally, live speech mapping measures the kind of sounds you want to hear. Rather than the strange noises and beeps of ‘traditional’ hearing aid appointments, you get to listen to the voice of a real human being, and have your hearing aid adjusted so you can hear them better.
Do You Need Live Speech Mapping?
Not sure if live speech mapping is a vital part of your hearing treatment plan? Get in touch with us today to learn more about whether or not you could benefit.
