Real ear measurement (REM) is the difference between hearing and hearing clearly. What sounds clear to someone else might be muffled or sharp for you. Real ear measurement takes the guesswork out of hearing aid settings by showing exactly what you’re experiencing.
Your hearing is personal – getting the settings right means you can focus on conversations and daily life instead of constantly adjusting your hearing aids. To get a customized, high-quality hearing experience, your provider may recommend REM during your hearing aid fitting.
What is REM?
REM uses tiny microphones attached to a thin probe to measure how sound travels through your ear canal while you’re wearing your devices. The data collected by the probe is analyzed to verify that your hearing aids are amplifying sounds at the correct levels, ranging from soft to loud sounds. This information allows your provider to make adjustments that optimize the technology for your specific type of hearing loss.
Everyone’s ear anatomy varies in shape and size. The ear canal, which connects the outer ear to the eardrum, can be long and wide in some, or smaller and narrower in others. Understanding the acoustics of your ear and the sound levels created by your hearing aids is essential to enhancing your hearing and quality of life.
Benefits of REM
Real ear measurement shows your hearing care professional exactly what you’re hearing, leading to more precise adjustments and better hearing in your daily life, in addition to:
- Individualized programming: REM allows your provider to adjust the hearing aid settings to meet your specific hearing needs.
- Enhanced speech clarity: Conversations become easier to follow, even in noisy environments.
- Natural sound quality: Voices, music and everyday sounds feel more balanced and true to life.
- Comfortable sound range: Accurate adjustments reduce the risk of sounds being too loud or too soft.
- Feedback reduction: Properly calibrating hearing aids reduces issues like whistling or feedback.
- Prescription verification: REM helps ensure your hearing aid settings match the prescription given by your provider.
What to Expect During REM
When you visit for a hearing aid fitting using real ear measurement, the process begins with a thorough preparation phase. Your provider will perform an otoscopy to examine the inside of your ear canal, ensuring it’s free from any wax or blockages that could interfere with accurate measurements.
Once your ear canal has been inspected, the professional will carefully insert a tiny microphone probe, positioning it about a quarter inch from your eardrum. Made of silicone, this thin and flexible probe usually creates nothing more than a slight tickling sensation. The microphone at its tip is designed to measure how sound travels through your unique ear canal.
Your hearing aids will then be placed in your ears while keeping the microphone probe in position. This setup is crucial as it allows the microphone to capture both how sounds behave inside your ear and measure the effectiveness of your hearing aids’ amplification.
During the measurement process, you’ll experience a variety of sounds that replicate everyday listening environments. Your provider will use the data collected by the probe to verify that your hearing aids are providing appropriate amplification levels. Throughout this process, they’ll gather your feedback about what you’re hearing. If you find certain sounds too soft, too loud or uncomfortable, they can adjust the settings to better match your preferences.
After making any necessary adjustments, your provider will conduct final testing to confirm that everything is properly calibrated. This ensures your hearing aids are performing optimally for your specific needs.
We welcome you to contact our office if you’d like to learn more about REM or explore other options for customizing your listening experience. Our primary focus is ensuring your hearing aids are comfortable, performing at their best and delivering the highest sound quality possible.