Pre-Trial Hearing Checklist

Congratulations on your willingness to enter this brave new world of hearing! If you are like most people trying hearing aids with today’s amazing technology, you’re in for some wonderful positive experiences, which started with your decision in knowing what you wanted.

Surely over the past few years you found several situations to be untenable or frustrating, circumstances which ultimately led to you trying hearing aids now. So before we do anything, it’s important to take a measurement of how you were doing before you got hearing aids. Please answer each of the following questions to the best of your knowledge as you were functioning before your hearing aids trial began. Give yourself one point for each “Well” response, then add the total of “Well” responses and note it on the line below the checklist. We will discuss later as your 30-day hearing aid trial period ends.

Pre-Trial 10-Question Checklist

[ Well: 1-pt Fair: 0-pts Poorly: 0-pts Not Well: 0-pts ]

1. How did loved ones (or friends) tell you they thought you were hearing?
(Points: _______)

2. How well in relative quiet did you hear and understand your significant other at 6-8 feet?
(Points: _______)

3. How well in some background noise did you hear and understand your significant other at 6-8 feet?
(Points: _______)

4. How well in a somewhat noisy restaurant did you hear?
(Points: _______)

5. How well did you hear the telephone ring from another room?
(Points: _______)

6. How well did you hear and understand on the telephone?
(Points: _______)

7. How well did you hear common sounds in the environment like the refrigerator hum, a wall clock, crickets, birds, etc.?
(Points: _______)

8. How well did you understand television at levels acceptable to others?
(Points: _______)

9. How well did you hear children’s and women’s voices?
(Points: _______)

10. How well did you feel you managed hearing in daily listening situations like at the bank, drugstore, market, etc.?
(Points: _______)

TOTAL “Well” POINTS: ________

If you answered anything but “Well” to any of the questions on the checklist, start finding solutions. To improve room acoustics: drapes, wall coverings, carpeting, and acoustic tiles are good sound absorbers. Closing a door can shut off sounds from noisier areas of the house, and even indoor plants can absorb sound and make a more favorable listening environment as well as more decorative.

Please don’t skip ahead. Tomorrow’s “Day 2” can be read tomorrow. This book is designed for you to reap the benefits one day at a time. Take your time and enjoy today’s experiences. To record notes you wish to remember, skip ahead to page 65.