Webster Audiology

Hearing Aid Fitting

Selection, fitting, and programming, matched to your ears, your hearing, and the settings in which you most need them.

Four-step process

Fitting continues past the first appointment, across the four stages below.

01

Goal setting

Practical point

You don't need to choose a hearing aid before your appointment. Dr. Webster will help you weigh your options.

We begin with a comprehensive evaluation, then discuss the circumstances in which you struggle most — the crowded table, the meeting, the television at a volume upon which the household can agree. The evaluation yields your prescription; the conversation supplies the rest.

Manufacturers do not all sound alike. Each renders sound differently — its texture, its brightness, its fullness, and the manner in which it balances loudness against clarity. Working across the leading prescription brands, we match device, style, and technology to your prescription, your ears, your dexterity, and your life.

02

Fitting & verification

Fitting proceeds in three parts: the physical fit, the programming, and the verification that confirms the result.

Sizing

We fit the physical components — wire length, dome size and style, the seating by which the device holds. Custom styles require an ear impression sent to the manufacturer; turnaround is about two weeks.

Programming

The devices are programmed to your prescription and adjusted by ear for comfort, clarity, and balance between the two sides, together with the features upon which you will rely — streaming, application controls, programs for particular settings.

Real-ear verification

Every ear canal is a unique physical cavity. Because of its specific volume and geometry, your ear naturally alters the frequency and amplitude of sound waves as they travel through it.

When a small speaker is placed inside your ear, the only way to determine the exact sound pressure reaching your eardrum is to measure it directly within that physical space. A tiny microphone is inserted into your ear canal alongside the device to record how the sound waves are actually behaving in real time. The speaker is then calibrated until its acoustic output exactly matches the specific targets you require.

03

Follow-up & fine-tuning

After a week of wear, you return. Daily use reveals what the sound booth cannot; whatever it surfaces, we resolve. More than one round of adjustment is ordinary, and every round is included.

04

Ongoing care

A successful fitting begins the longer work. For three years, your visits, cleanings, and adjustments are included, and the devices carry a three-year warranty. As your hearing changes, we re-test, reprogram, and re-verify, so that the aids keep pace with it.

Styles we fit

Hearing aids take a handful of forms. The one that suits you depends upon your loss, the shape of your canal, your dexterity, and what you will wear daily. Style follows the evaluation.

RIC

Receiver-in-canal

The form most commonly fitted: a small body behind the ear, a thin wire into the canal. RICs suit the widest range of losses, carry the full complement of features, and adjust most readily as hearing changes. Absent a strong preference, this is where the evaluation tends to point.
BTE

Behind-the-ear

The whole device rests behind the ear, coupled by tubing to a custom earmold. The larger housing affords greater power and an easier grip — suited to more significant losses, to those for whom small parts prove difficult, and to ears that require durability.
Custom

Custom in-the-ear devices

Built from an impression of your ear, these sit within the ear itself, across a range of sizes that depends upon the manufacturer and upon what your ear will accommodate — from a unit that fills the outer ear to one seated deep enough in the canal to be invisible, or nearly so. Larger customs handle more easily and accommodate rechargeable batteries and Bluetooth; the smallest trade those for discretion. Suited to mild through moderately severe loss.

Brands we work with

Webster Audiology works independently of any single manufacturer. We fit and service all six below; the one we recommend follows from your evaluation and your goals.

Widex logoOticon logoReSound logoPhonak logoSignia logoStarkey logo

Common questions

Which hearing aid brand is best?

There is no universal best. Each manufacturer holds real strengths, and the right one follows from your hearing, your ears, and your daily life. Because we fit all six, the answer may be any of them.

OTC versus prescription hearing aids?

Over-the-counter devices are self-fitted, intended for adults with perceived mild-to-moderate difficulty. The weight of that word perceived is easy to miss: the category asks you to already know how much hearing loss you have, which is the one thing no one can know without a test. Prescription devices are programmed to a prescription from a comprehensive evaluation, verified by real-ear measurement, and refined through follow-up care. Should you be uncertain which your hearing requires, the evaluation resolves it, and we will say so plainly.

Is there a trial period?

Yes. Every purchase includes a thirty-day trial: you wear the devices through daily life, return for your follow-up visit, and decide. Should you return them, a portion of the cost is retained for the professional services rendered. The terms appear plainly in your purchase agreement, which we review together before anything is ordered.

I purchased my hearing aids elsewhere — can you service them?

Yes. We program, verify, and maintain hearing aids purchased elsewhere.
Related readingHearing aid support

How long do hearing aids last?

Most sets afford five to seven years of daily wear. Regular cleaning and servicing extend that span, and we re-examine your hearing along the way, so that the programming keeps pace as both device and hearing age.

Will hearing aids give me normal hearing again?

No. Hearing aids work with the hearing you have. Fit well, they can make conversation easier, reduce listening effort, and rebalance the acoustic representations of the sound in your environment.

Am I expected to purchase hearing aids if I come in?

No. We'll test your hearing, explain the results, and give you our recommendations. What happens after that is entirely up to you; we're here for you.
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