Make sure your hearing aids are right for you
There are many types of hearing aids. Each person’s device is designed and adjusted just for them. Not every hearing aid works for every person.

Help you use and take care of your hearing aids
Modern hearing aids offer options such as specific settings for different environments. Your audiologist will help you learn to use these.

They can provide advice about getting used to your hearing aids. Often, the first few weeks or even months can be challenging as the brain adjusts to the new input. As well, they’ll teach you how to keep your hearing aids in good condition.

Set you up with other helpful technology
There’s a whole world of technology to help people hear better, and it is improving all the time. An audiologist can figure out what’s best for you and teach you to use it. Here are some examples:

• Assistive listening devices make sounds easier to hear by bringing the sound directly to your ear. They also reduce background noise. For some people, an assistive listening device is the only technology they need.
  This might be as simple as a telephone amplifier. It might be a device used in the classroom, theatre, or other big public space that captures the sounds of the presentation and transmits them to a personal speaker, headphones, or your hearing aids. Or you could use a remote microphone that connects wirelessly to headphones or hearing aids. You place the device near what or who you want to hear, and it sends the sound directly back to your ears. For instance, you could use a pocket talker to talk to a friend or health professional. This is a device about the size of a deck of cards that you can buy for $100 – $150. Closed captioning shows the words at the bottom of the screen while you’re watching TV or your computer screen (e.g., when you are attending a Zoom meeting). Most newer TVs and online programs have a closed-captions option.
• Speech-to-text technology translates spoken language into written language almost instantly. It is now freely available to anyone with a smartphone, thanks to NALscribe, a free app that anyone can download and use.For example, if you are in a restaurant, you can put a device in the centre of the table. It will capture the conversation so you can read the text on your personal screen as the conversation unfolds. It’s also useful at doctor’s appointments and when speakers are wearing masks. It is like a personal closed captioning app. Alerting devices alert you to a particular sound, such as the doorbell, a ringing telephone, or a baby monitor. These devices use louder sounds, lights, or vibrations to get your attention.

Teach you simple ways to improve communication
Your audiologist can help you let others know what you need. For instance, you can ask people to face you so you can see their lips and facial expressions. You can ask people to speak slower but not shout at you. You can ask questions when you do not understand.

Also, an audiologist can suggest ways to set up your home to make hearing and listening easier. This might mean moving furniture and adding lighting so you can see people. It could include adding carpets to keep other noises down.

As well, an audiologist can give you tips for going out into the world. Depending on what your typical activities are, your audiologist can help you make an action plan, find the right words to ask for what you need, and educate others. Sometimes group classes are available so people who are hard of hearing can share ideas and experiences.

Help your family and friends understand your hearing loss and support you
Your loved ones don’t know how you hear. The audiologist can help them understand. There are recordings and simulations that let others hear how people with hearing loss hear.

Your audiologist can coach people in your life. For example, they can explain why it is important to get your attention before beginning to talk, to face you when speaking, to choose quieter tables and quieter times of day when visiting restaurants and pubs, and more.