Real Ear Measurement (REM), speech mapping systems

Real Ear Measurement (REM), speech mapping systems

When patient is fit with hearing aids, one of the many ways hearing professionals may ensure patient hearing aids perform properly is by conducting a test called Real Ear Measurement (REM).

REM is one of the most valuable tools hearing professionals have at their disposal. It allows for a more precise, personalized fitting, based on the exact acoustic signature of patient’s ears. Real Ear Measurement is a short test (5-20 minutes) conducted by hearing professionals, which ensures that patient’s hearing aids are providing the right amount of sound to their eardrum. Once patient newly fitted hearing aid is programmed and in his/her ear, hearing professional will insert a tiny probe device in patient ear canal, which sits very close to the eardrum.

This probe measures the sound at patient eardrum and ensures the hearing aid is applying the appropriate gain at each frequency. Speech mapping is a way of measuring the hearing instrument performance in the ear using real speech. Normally a fitting session is based on formulas and predictions, but with Speech mapping the hearing professionals can precisely place speech into the individual client’s preferred listening area – typically midway between threshold and UCL. The use of familiar sounds in combination with probe microphones has proven extremely efficient in getting the most accurate individual fit and verification. In short the benefit of REM and Speech mapping systems is that they allow for more fine-tuned, accurately fitted hearing aids.