Your first appointment usually takes around an hour. While we adjust to new social distancing guidance, we’d ask that you attend your appointment alone, if possible.

After asking a few questions, the audiologist will test your ears by playing sounds at different pitches through a pair of headphones and asking you to press a button every time you hear a sound. They will then ask you to wear a special headband that will test how well you hear sounds through vibrations.

Using a tiny camera, they will examine the health of your ear canals and ear drums, ensuring that sound has a clear pathway through the structures of the middle and inner ears – they’ll even show you on screen what they’re seeing. This will be recorded to help keep track of any changes in your ear over time.

If you need to wear a hearing aid, your audiologist will talk you through all the options that might be suitable for you. They may also take a mould of your ear canal, so that your new aid fits properly. This takes five minutes and is completely painless.

Real Ear Measurement is used to account for the individual acoustic characteristics of your ear canals. A special microphone analyses the sounds produced by the hearing aids in your ear canal to ensure you’re getting the best level of sound.

In most cases your hearing aids can be fitted on the same day as your test. They’ll be programmed to your needs and we’ll make sure you know how to use them before you leave the store.

We’ll also organise a follow-up appointment after four weeks to check that everything is well and fine-tune the programming if necessary. This may be via our RemoteCare service or with the finetuning app. Your audiologist will explain all the details during your initial appointment.