Top 6 Benefits of Using Speech Mapping in Your Hearing Clinic

For decades, pure tone audiometry has been the gold-standard method to assess hearing. Modern audiometry technology offers additional tools for verifying hearing aids in realistic sound environments, using real speech signals and detailed, real-time analysis of hearing aid output in the frequency domain.

Speech mapping is an exciting and useful method of fitting customers for hearing aids using speech signals as a stimulus. This solution helps audiologists adjust hearing aids to the proper settings for each customer, maximizing positive outcomes.

Speech mapping uses the same hardware as Real-Ear Measurements (REM) and offers many significant benefits for both audiologists and customers, such as making fitting appointments more interactive, decreasing hearing aid returns, and reducing the number of office visits necessary to successfully program each customer’s hearing aids.

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Many Customers Are Concerned About Hearing Speech

Many customers come to audiology clinics because they’re having trouble hearing speech, either during in-person conversations, on the telephone, in work meetings, or on their favorite television shows. The problem is often compounded by background noise, such as trying to listen to a conversation in a crowded restaurant.

Since a lot of customers are concerned about hearing speech – especially speech in noise – speech mapping is an effective way to measure hearing aid performance using real-world test signals. Therefore, many clinicians are improving their customers’ hearing aid fittings using this approach.

Speech mapping allows clinicians to show their customers how their hearing aids are working in natural environments. The method makes it easier for customers to understand how their hearing aids will enhance their ability to hear speech and learn about the benefits of the hearing aids in a tangible way.

Top 6 Benefits of Speech Mapping:

Explains the need for hearing aids to clients

It can be very helpful to present a visualization of the HI benefit to the customer and their loved ones, visually showing them how the customer’s hearing loss can be improved with hearing aids. Using easy-to-understand graphics, clinicians can demonstrate hearing aid benefits, including noise reduction, directionality, and frequency lowering. This exercise helps increase customers’ confidence in the treatment process, offers “proof” that the hearing aids will help resolve their hearing loss, and spotlights the innovative solutions that the hearing clinic uses. It can also help customers’ loved ones understand the benefits the customers may experience from using hearing aids.

Ensures hearing at all speech levels

The speech-based test signal is used with the hearing aids, so the clinician gets necessary verification that the hearing aids are working optimally. Also, the customer gets a realistic sense of how the hearing aids will perform in real-life situations, like listening to speech with background noise.

Increasing customer satisfaction

The use of speech mapping boosts customer satisfaction and helps ensure that each customer is happy with the customized amplification they’re getting from their hearing aids. Customer satisfaction helps reduce hearing aid returns, decrease follow up appointments to refit hearing aids, increase sales, and boost customer referrals.

Speech mapping saves time

In most cases, the verification process takes less than five minutes. In fact, research has shown that clinicians can save a full appointment when doing speech mapping. It will also save your customers from coming back repeatedly for new fittings, since their hearing aids were fitted properly the first time. This allows your clinic’s clinicians to examine (and sell to) more customers.

It’s intuitive and user-friendly

There are innovative software options that offer intuitive, user-friendly speech mapping modules, allowing audiologists to focus more on their interactions with customers, and less on fussing with their equipment. It's helpful to use integrated equipment and modules to provide a streamlined experience that ensures clinical excellence.

Helps boost Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Using speech mapping results in increased hearing aid sales, fewer hearing aid returns, and the ability to upsell products through performance in noise demonstrations.

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Whether you're doing testing and fitting at your clinic or out in the community, you need flexible, connected solutions that make clinical data available to other systems. With seamless integration to NOAH and a modular architecture, Auditdata Measure allows you to add the specific modules you need, including video otoscopy, REM, speech mapping, and more.

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Resources

⭐️ A portfolio of audiological equipment Measure

⭐️ Speech Mapping in Measure Software

⭐️ REM in Measure Software

⭐️ Video Otoscope

⭐️ Increasing Patient Satisfaction with Speech Mapping