A.H. came into the Gardner Audiology Inverness office on referral from her ear physician. She had asymmetric hearing loss and was hoping we could help her right ear. She is a nurse and is in constant communication with patients; both in person and on the phone. At her consult, A.H. admitted to being a perfectionist and had high expectations for hearing aids. Her left ear has some hearing loss, but not as severe as the right ear. She wanted to try a hearing aid in both ears, but admitted up front, she was more focused on the hearing in her right ear. A.H. was fit with Starkey X110 Receiver-in-the-Canal hearing aids.
During a phone call, three days following her fitting, A.H., stated she was “doing great”. At her scheduled follow up she indicated she would like to have the hearing aids turned up slightly. We did and one week later she came back asking to have the hearing aids “put back the way they were”. We did and she was thrilled. By the second week she was comfortable with the optimum amplification from the aids. It is common for new hearing aid users to experiment with small adjustments to the initial fitting.
A.H. stated at her final follow-up she was so happy she decided to try Starkey hearing aids with Gardner Audiology. She decided at this time that she did not feel there was enough benefit to her left ear and returned it. Having the hearing aid in her right ear has truly improved her ability function at work and home; even for this “known perfectionist”.
