Real ear measurement (REM) measures the sound pressure level that develops when a hearing aid is worn in the ear and verifies that the hearing aid is providing the right amount of amplification for your particular hearing loss prescription.
Every ear canal is different even between the right and the left and therefore, it is very important to fit hearing aids using real ear measurements in order to confirm that you are meeting your prescription. We at Strauss Audiology want to confirm you understand how to use your new hearing aids, and that they’re properly calibrated and programmed for your needs.
What is real ear measurement?
Real ear measurement confirms that the settings on your hearing aid are providing soft and loud sounds at the correct amplification. That is, instead of solely relying on your report of how things sound with the hearing aid on, real ear measurement provides a report on the sound levels you’re receiving.
What happens during real ear measurement?
If we at Strauss Audiology perform a real ear measurement, here’s what you can expect:
Step 1:
Before you visit us, our owner audiologist will calibrate the machine.
Once that’s all set, you’ll enter the room with the machine used for the measurement process. Our owner audiologist will perform an otoscopy, which is explained as checking in your ears with a special viewing device.
Step 2:
Our owner audiologist will place the probe in your ear, about six millimetres from your eardrum. It is key to get the probe tube in the right spot for accurate measurements. This is not painful or even very uncomfortable.
Step 3:
With the probe in place, our owner audiologist will next fit your hearing aids in. You’ll have both the probe and your new hearing aids in your ears.
Step 4:
Now it’s time to listen. The goal is for your audiologist to measure the hearing aids’ ability, at the eardrum, to amplify soft, average, and loud speech.
During this step, expect that the audiologist may make some adjustments. They’ll be using the machine to confirm the amplification in your ear hits the targets. If it’s not, the hearing aids can be adjusted.
Step 5:
You provide feedback. For this final step, the probe tip is removed and sound is checked with the patient to confirm that they can hear correctly.
The machine is helpful, but your experience matters, too. If the “loud” sounds are uncomfortably loud, for instance, our owner audiologist may make adjustments.
This whole process, from start to finish, on both ears, typically takes around 10 minutes. The real ear measurement can take a bit longer if many adjustments are required.
About Strauss Audiology
Strauss Audiology is a professional audiology business in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, offering expert, effective hearing advice that is tailored to clients’ unique hearing needs. We conduct hearing evaluations, hearing tests and vertigo assessments, and provide a range of solutions to improve and protect clients’ hearing. This includes providing hearing aids to Cape Town clients. With 16 years of experience, and with the qualifications and certifications to deliver leading hearing care, you can trust us to take care of your hearing needs.
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