Melanie Macko's Blog

I wanted to share a little bit about the new Speech Mapping equipment that I'm using in Gladstone.

Speech mapping allows me to personalize the hearing aid fitting at a whole new level. Before speech mapping the hearing aids are programmed according to the manufacturer's software prescribed target for the hearing loss and then "tweaked" based upon the user's experiences and descriptions. However, this didn't take into consideration the acoustic properties of the individual ear canal or the effects of the shape and size of the hearing aid earpiece. Particularly when I make modifications that aren't typical for that specific hearing aid but were done to make the comfort and the overall hearing aid experience a better one. I often felt like it was an eye exam (is it better like this or like this), which doesn't work well for hearing aids since many of my patients tell me they don't really know what "normal" sounds like since they've had hearing loss for so many years.

Now...joyfully, I have speech mapping. After hooking the hearing aids up to the computer like I have in the past, I insert a small microphone into the ear canal right where the sound is being delivered to that individual ear. At that point I can measure exactly what is going in and if it is matching the target range for the hearing loss. While measuring, I can simultaneously make programming adjustments. It is quite exciting when I can make specific adjustments to the hearing aids while the spouse/significant other/family member is speaking in order to make sure my patient is hearing them adequately. The speech mapping is so specific that measurements pinpoint the exact areas that need improvement. Now I am only limited by the availability of fine tuning adjustments on the hearing aids themselves (specifically in the entry level technology).