Unitron
Many audiology clinics, including the FitHearing Audiology Network, have leaned more heavily on TeleHealth as the COVID-19 pandemic made it more difficult and risky to meet in person. What is TeleHealth? Put simply, it is the ability to meet with a health care provider remotely, via the phone, internet, or videoconference. TeleHealth has become an indispensable method of treatment, especially when it comes to fitment adjustments.
Fitment and TeleHealth
“Fitment” refers to the process of making sure that your hearing aids are tuned properly for your specific hearing requirements. While your hearing test provides the data for your initial fitment, it is perfectly normal to require adjustments once you start actually using your hearing aids out in the world. Psychoacoustic phenomena, the way your hearing aids end up sitting in your ears, and minor differences in the responses between individual hearing aids can all contribute to things not sounding quite right, off the bat. It is common for fittings to need adjustment multiple times during the first month or so that you’re wearing your new hearing aids.
In the past, adjusting fitment has required a visit to the office. We were only able to access your hearing aids’ programming to make the necessary changes in person. In recent years—thanks to Bluetooth and integration with smartphones—it has become possible to access the tiny computers inside your hearing aids nearly anywhere, as long as they are connected to a compatible device that has access to wifi or mobile data.
Beyond simply keeping you safe during the pandemic, using TeleHealth for fitment adjustments has an added bonus: You can immediately test your new fitment in the environments where you normally spend time. If your new fitment doesn’t work, you’re more likely to know right away, since it is being uploaded to your hearing aids while you’re in the comfort of your own home, office, or wherever you use your hearing aids regularly.
The ability to adjust fitment “on the go” is a game-changer in the hearing aid industry. While every major hearing aid manufacturer offers some version of it at this point, each manufacturer’s approach is a little different, and there’s a lot more you can do in the same app where your fitment gets adjusted. Let’s take a more in-depth look at Unitron’s Remote Plus app.
Unitron Remote Plus App
Unitron’s app contains a feature called “Remote Adjust” that allows us to send a new fitment to your hearing aids. All you have to do is call us and explain, as best you can, what’s wrong with the sound of your hearing aids, and if the problem seems like a fitment issue we can send you a new fitment right through the app.
Volume, Program, Mute
Remote Plus also offers you the ability to control the volume of your hearing aids right from your smartphone, so you don’t need to fiddle with tiny physical controls on your hearing aids. You can also create and change up to six programs for different environments, easily adjusting the relationships between background sound, speech, and directionality as you find yourself in quieter or more boisterous environments. You can even mute or unmute your hearing aids, if you so choose.
EQ (Equalizer)
The app offers a 3-band equalizer, like you’ll find in the car or on most stereo systems. While your hearing aids should sound good to you with a “flat” equalizer profile most of the time, some situations might lead you to want more or less bass, midrange or treble. This feature allows you to create a more comfortable listening situation for yourself no matter what the surrounding environment might sound like, and you can save the settings for places you frequent.
Tinnitus Masking
The app also gives you control over the tinnitus masking function in your Unitron hearing aids. For those with tinnitus, sounds that cover up the tinnitus can be a life saver. William Shatner has famously dealt with tinnitus since a faulty explosion on the set of Star Trek, and he has said that masking is the main way he finds relief from his tinnitus. If you have tinnitus, your Unitron hearing aids can help mask it, and the Remote Plus app gives you the ability to turn it on or off, and adjust its volume.
If you or a loved one is experiencing hearing loss, please know that there has never been a better time to treat your hearing loss with hearing aids. Make an appointment for a hearing test today and find out what hearing aids, and TeleHealth, can do to improve your life!
