Audiology Clinics at the V.A.
The Hearing Aid Evaluation (HAE) Clinic is dedicated to hearing aid fittings, verification, and orientation. Currently the clinic includes four rooms to conduct hearing aid evaluations, each housing probe microphone instruments. Three sound rooms are also equipped for sound-field testing. An hour is allotted for each HAE appointment, thus providing time for verification of the hearing aid and rehabilitation. Hearing aid fittings are verified through either insertion gain or functional gain measures. The patients are counseled on the use and care of the hearing aid(s) in individual sessions; spouses and significant others are involved in the fitting process whenever possible to better facilitate hearing aid use. The veteran is given a copy of a hearing aid manual entitled “ Your VA Hearing Aid” that was developed by VA audiologists. The hearing aid manual provides a written resource reviewing the orientation material. Also included in the manual are communication strategies, troubleshooting guides, and procedures for repairing your hearing aids and reordering hearing aid batteries. New hearing aid users are scheduled for a follow-up appointment to monitor how they are doing with their new hearing aids. This appointment allows the staff to make changes to the hearing aid settings and to verify hearing aid benefit. If veterans are having problems with their new hearing aids, then they should contact the Audiology clinic right away to request an appointment.