Question
How can Aurical support my verification needs, especially in in this time of evidence-based care and documenting outcomes?
Answer
Verification is a crucial step in the hearing aid fitting process because it provides an objective measure of the performance of the hearing instrument. In the fitting process, having to rely on the feedback of the client alone without any objective measures can result in a challenging fitting process for the clinicians and the clients. Ultimately, we need to make sure that the clients get the expected benefit from their hearing instruments—and verification is key.
We designed the Aurical fitting solution based on many studies of workflows and interaction between the professional, the client and the equipment. With this in mind, it is natural to focus on integrated and automated verification—most recently with ReSound and Phonak.
To be specific, last year, the fruit of the collaboration between Otometrics and Sonova was released. Automated fitting to target in real ear using the Target Match function in the Phonak Target fitting software streamlines the workflow and eliminates some of the extra steps in manual verification. This makes the use very straightforward and now includes a new industry first with the added ability to measure the distance between the probe tube and the ear drum. By innovating and collaborating with Phonak, we’ve been able to help practices get on board with verification, which is so important for successful outcomes.
This collaboration has extended into a brand-new release of Otosuite and Phonak Target. In this release, it is possible to also fit to a prescriptive target while the hearing instrument is in the test chamber – meaning a lot of the work can be done without having the client present.
This is great news for both clients and clinicians.
Due to technical cooperation on an industry level, similar integrations with Aurical can be achieved with all hearing instrument manufacturers. There seems to be clear positive trend in adoption of integrated and automated verification so we expect more hearing instrument manufacturers to come into play.
Who can say no to an extremely easy Wizard-like process in the manufacturer’s software, requiring very little additional training? All steps are made in the correct order, and the programming of the hearing instrument to match a prescriptive target is made automatically based on actual measurements that are fully controlled by the manufacturer’s software.
Hearing instrument programming and verification has never been this integrated and easy before. This approach resonates very well with professionals as it makes verification much more accessible and it frees up time to things like more patient counseling, or working on business goals like outreach and marketing. You can read about our latest product developments and services designed to support audiology practices on our recent interview with AudiologyOnline.
For more information on how Aurical can support your fitting and verification needs, Otometrics/Audiology Systems hosts an audiologist-led Hands-on Aurical Training course for 0.7 CEUs. You may also join our AudiologyOnline webinars, such as Verification & Counseling of Digital Hearing Instruments with the AURICAL PMM System and AURICAL HIT Applications Part 1 - Applications for Hearing Instrument Fittings and Beyond.
For more information, visit www.audiologysystems.com/aurical or the Otometrics/Audiology Systems Expo on AudiologyOnline.
