Most people assume a hearing aid fitting is quick and simple: the audiologist programs the device, hands it over, and you're done. That's how some practices do it. It's also why so many hearing aids end up forgotten in a drawer.
At Sound Hearing Audiology & Speech, every fitting includes Real Ear Measurement (REM). It's the difference between a hearing aid that's been guessed at and one that's been verified against your actual ear. Our team breaks down exactly what the process looks like, so you know what to expect before you come in.
Why Programming Alone Isn't Enough
Every hearing aid gets programmed using your audiogram, the chart that maps your hearing loss across different pitches. That's standard. What isn't standard is checking whether the sound actually reaching your eardrum matches what was prescribed once the device is sitting in your ear.
Manufacturers program devices using average ear canal measurements. "No two ears are shaped the same," Dr. Engelhardt explains. "A generic setting might work well for one patient and completely fall short for another." REM closes that gap by measuring what's happening in your ear, not a statistical average.
A Tiny Tube Does the Heavy Lifting
The process starts with a thin, soft silicone probe tube placed just inside your ear canal, close to the eardrum. It's not uncomfortable; most patients say it feels like wearing an earbud. Your hearing aid goes in alongside it, positioned exactly the way you'd wear it every day.
That probe connects to a microphone that captures sound in real time, right at your eardrum. No guessing. No assumptions about how your ear canal might be shaped.
Measuring What Your Hearing Aid Actually Delivers
With everything in place, calibrated speech and tones play through a speaker nearby. The equipment records exactly what's arriving at your eardrum while your hearing aid is actively working. That's a crucial distinction from a standard booth test.
A booth test tells you what sounds you can detect. REM tells you what your hearing aid is genuinely delivering once it's inside your ear. Those two things can be very different, especially if your ear canal is narrower, longer, or shaped differently than the norm.
Adjusting Until the Numbers Match Your Needs
This is where real personalization happens. Our audiologist pulls up your prescriptive targets on screen, talks you through the specific levels each frequency should reach for your degree of hearing loss, and compares them live against what the measurements are showing.
If high-frequency sounds are coming in too soft, speech will sound muffled. If low frequencies are too strong because of how your ear canal amplifies them naturally, things can feel boomy or overwhelming. Adjustments happen on the spot until every frequency lands where it should. Not approximately. Actually matched to your targets.
Two patients with nearly identical audiograms can walk out with different final settings. That's not an error; it's proof the fitting was done right.
What You'll Notice After a Proper Fitting
Patients fitted with REM often notice an immediate difference. Speech tends to sound clearer and more natural rather than tinny or muffled, because the device has been calibrated to your ear canal instead of an average one. You're also less likely to need multiple follow-up visits to chase down problems, since the guesswork gets eliminated from the start.
That matters practically. Fewer "something still sounds off" appointments. Less frustration in the first weeks of wearing. A device that actually performs the way it was meant to.
Ready for a Fitting That's Built Around You
A hearing aid fitting shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all appointment. At Sound Hearing Audiology & Speech in Jericho, Dr. Engelhardt and Dr. Robin Zeller use Real Ear Measurement on every single fitting. If you're getting new hearing aids or your current ones have never been verified this way, it's worth experiencing what a properly measured fit actually sounds like.
To schedule an appointment at our Jericho office, call us at (516) 932-7577.