All Ears Hearing and Tinnitus Podcast11 Sep

Sound Preference Testing: What It Reveals

More than one in three people who invest in hearing aids stop wearing them regularly. Dr. Garrett makes the case that this outcome is almost entirely predictable — and preventable — with two steps most clinics skip.

The first is a pre-fitting sound preference assessment: before any device is recommended, you listen. Research from 2026 in Trends in Hearing found that up to 40% of patients have a strong, stable preference for one manufacturer's sound processing approach over another. That preference holds across environments and over time. It's not a mood. Skipping the check means the device was selected without the most important input.

The second step is real ear measurement — objective verification that the device selected for preference is also delivering the amplification your prescription requires. A 2021 systematic review found a 52% difference in user preference between REM-verified and non-verified fittings. About 70% of clinics still don't do it routinely.

Margaret came in after three months with a "well-regarded" device she'd stopped wearing. Her fitting was technically correct. It just wasn't right for how she hears.

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PODCAST KEYWORDS:
hearing aid fitting process, real ear measurement, sound preference testing, why hearing aids don't work, hearing aid wear rate, REM verification, audiologist best practices, hearing aid selection, "why don't my hearing aids work", "hearing aids sound wrong", hearing aid fitting Utah, audiology evaluation

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