How Hearing Aids Are Tested in the Real World
By Zunaid Patel, HCPC-registered audiologist, The Hearing Grove, Preston
Most hearing aids are tried for the first time in a quiet consulting room. It’s calm, and the audiologist is sitting right in front of you. But that’s not where most of us struggle to hear.
Your life doesn’t happen in a quiet room. It happens in cafés, on busy streets, at family dinners and on walks. That’s why, at The Hearing Grove, we don’t stop at the test booth.
Why a quiet room isn’t enough
A hearing test tells us which sounds you can and can’t hear. It’s the essential starting point. But it can’t tell us how you’ll cope with a noisy café or a conversation while traffic passes.
In a quiet room, almost any hearing aid sounds good. The real question is how it works in the places that matter to you, especially where you struggle the most.
How we test your hearing and hearing aids
1. We start with a proper hearing assessment.We test your hearing in detail, including how well you understand speech, so we know what you need.
2. We talk about your life.Where do you find it hardest to hear? A family dinner, the television, a meeting, the café/pub?
3. We fit and set up the hearing aids carefully. We adjust them to your hearing and check that they’re comfortable.
4. We take them outside.This is the part people remember. We try the hearing aids in real places, such as busy cafés and the paths of Winckley Gardens, the park opposite the clinic that gave us our name.
5. We listen to how it feels, and we adjust.You tell us what you notice: voices, background noise, your own voice, sudden loud sounds. We fine-tune the settings with you, so you can decide with confidence.
The moment people notice
One patient, walking along the path through Winckley Gardens with their new hearing aids, stopped and said they could hear the birds. They hadn’t heard them in a long time. Then they zipped up their coat, and heard that too: the small, everyday sound of a zip they hadn’t noticed for years.
Those little sounds are easy to miss, and they’re often what people say makes the biggest difference.
See the benefit in real time
The real value of testing in real places is that you see the benefit as it happens, in the situations where you may struggle the most: a busy café, a conversation outdoors, the background hum of a street. Instead of being told what a hearing aid might do, you hear it for yourself, and you can decide whether it’s right for you.
What to notice during a real-world trial
Can you follow a conversation with background noise?
Do voices sound clearer, not just louder?
Does your own voice sound natural?
Are sudden sounds, like cups or doors, comfortable?
Do you notice everyday sounds you’d stopped hearing, such as birdsong, footsteps or a zip?
A realistic expectation
Hearing aids don’t give you back perfect hearing, and everyone’s experience differs. It takes time for your brain to adjust, and a good fit and follow-up care matter as much as the device. Testing in the real world helps you see the benefit for yourself before you decide.
Your hearing shouldn’t be defined by a quiet room
If you’ve noticed that you struggle to follow conversations, or if someone has suggested a hearing test, it’s worth finding out where you stand. We offer hearing assessments, private hearing aids and ear wax removal, in clinic, at home and in care homes.
Book online at thehearinggrove.co.uk/book-appointment or call 01772 846607.
The Hearing Grove, 33-34 Winckley Square, Preston PR1 3JJ
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