I tried the test of hear.com home prescription hearing aids

Putting theirs aside Exorbitant cost, the problem with prescription hearing aids is the prescription. Find a doctor. Get an appointment. Sit in a waiting room. He suffer for an hour of testing before obtaining the hard sale on a pair of hearing aids. Because, the indignation of all this is even worse than becoming deaf.

Telehealth offers a glimmer of a solution, but like all those who have tried to show off a amount regarding a doctor via a smartphone camera know it: video technology cannot only take you so far. Audiological tests require a significant individual interaction and a lot of technology to support it. Every audiogram for which I sat down was inside a sophisticated and soundproofed chamber.

Heart.com—A company that sells acoustic appliances from online prescription and through traditional retail sales channels – is an alternative solution. It puts all the technology necessary to perform a complete hearing test in a box and sends it to you together with a series of prescription hearing aids, so it guides you through everything with an audiologist through a video call. I have made Hear.com virtual hearing twice: this is how an examination appears to be an examination if you decide to take one.

It’s all online

The process begins With a simple discussion. If you have never had hearing aids before, this is probably a good first step; The veterans will probably skip it, especially if they know which model of hearing aids want (or how much they want to spend). A Hear.com seller will discuss your personal impressions on hearing loss, on all the acoustic device devices you have tried, previous audiological tests and your budget (together with any insurance you have). From there, they will suggest the best hearing aids (from their product line) to meet your needs, even if you can also defend a specific product if you have already identified one.

Subsequently, it will set the time for tests and assembly of the hearing aids and a few days later a box will arrive at hand. Open it and the collection of hardware and the tangle of wires that connect everything may seem discouraging, but to be calm, with even a minimum of technical knowledge, everything goes together and Hear.com professionals can guide you through any confusion on the phone.

Despite the significant quantity of equipment inside, the box is as organized as possible. At the top, you will find a Microsoft Surface tablet that has been stripped to do only one thing: serve as a conducted for a video -based audiology session. After inserting the surface to the power of the wall, you will find a USB breakout box to connect to the surface USB port. Assuming that all the other devices are still correctly connected to that boxout boxout USB (which is far from insured; it is good to check that everything is comfortable), you are actually in place. The surface has no other feature as well as starting the call with the Audiology professional and at the expected moment you touch a button on the screen to start the session.

After greeting you, the audiologist will guide you through a series of tests. The first is a physical examination of your ears, which is made possible thanks to the octoscope with including USB feeding, which it probably knows better as the illuminated tool with the black and conical tip that a use doctor to look in the ear canal. There is no doctor to guide the tool by hand, so the audiologist will tell you how to place it in every ear so that they can take a good look at the eardrum. And yes, you too can see what the doctor sees right on the surface screen. Spoiler: There is more wax in your auditory conduit than you think.

Do you feel about me now?

Assuming that he has no physical damage that prevent the use of hearing aids, it takes place at traditional hearing exams. This series of tests will consume most of the appointment time and most implies wearing a pair of headphones for oversize and insulating such as professional musicians. The tests were very familiar to me, starting from the tones played at variable frequencies and volume levels in each ear, during which it touches the surface screen every time you hear something.

The test is then repeated with a bone management device that attaches to the forehead with a velcro band for another look at the way the sound is processed. Finally, a third test measures your ability to distinguish various consonant and vocal sounds –sh vs. capFor example, which is performed by repeating the words you think you can hear from the Audiologist several times.