What Is The Gold Standard Of Care?

How would you expect to be treated when getting your ears tested or a hearing aid fitted? It might be fair to say with a high amount of respect, care, and attention. 

The gold standard of care means having a patient-centered approach that ensures every patient gets the care they need to be able to listen effectively in their daily life. 

If somebody is offered inferior care for their hearing, they could end up with an unsuccessful hearing aid experience. You may have friends who are not happy with their hearing aids, and this is probably why. 

Everyone’s hearing loss is different and needs to be treated individually. From your level of hearing loss, to the unique shape of your ear canal, there are many factors that contribute to a customized experience. At our clinic, we offer the gold standard of care for every single one of our patients. A patient-centered approach that ensures every one of our clients gets the help they need to communicate better with hearing loss. 

Today we'll show you what should be included in gold standard care to make sure you, as a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, get the best care possible. 

What does gold standard care include?

Gold standard care is what you should look for when it comes to getting your hearing checked or a hearing aid fitted. 

Here are five things that should be included in gold standard care from your audiologist. 

1. A patient-centered approach to treating hearing loss

One of the main parts of gold standard care is the patient-centered approach. Every person is different and has unique needs when it comes to their hearing. With a patient-centered approach, every person is treated as a unique individual. 

What is patient-centered care?

Patient-centered care refers to care that focuses on the patient and their individual health and care needs. The goal of patient-centered care is to empower patients and help them understand that by working closely with their provider, they’ll be able to get treated and recover appropriately. 

Because each person has a different history and a different level of hearing loss, the process of creating a successful experience with a hearing aid will look different from person to person. If you want to be a successful hearing aid user, looking for a clinic that offers patient-centered care is necessary. 

If you don't get the right care, you could end up spending money on a hearing aid that isn't fitted correctly for your hearing loss. 

At The Hearing Solution, we offer a patient-centered approach to care. We take your unique needs and lifestyle into consideration—everything from your level of hearing loss and your ear canal shape to the floor plan of your home and how loud your family members are. 

Also, our clinic doesn't have a time limit for our hearing aid trials because we know that every listener is different. It could take one patient a week to complete a treatment plan, whereas another could take up to three months. 

No matter how long it takes, we want to ensure that everyone who's deaf or hard of hearing gets a gold standard of care when they meet with one of our audiologists. 

2. Following evidence-based research

Another essential part of the gold standard is following evidence-based research. This is research that has been peer-reviewed by other researchers and is proven to be valid or accurate. 

This type of research isn't just simple opinions or estimates. It's research that has been proven effective. It has provided people with hearing loss or tinnitus with a successful solution. 

Both audiologists in our clinic have a detailed understanding of all the current research into hearing loss, tinnitus, and other hearing-related conditions. In fact, both of our experienced audiologists went to the University of Pacific in San Francisco for their doctoral program. 

This program is known to be one of the top programs in the Western United States. So, you can rest easy when you visit our clinic because our audiologists always use evidence-based research in their work.

3. A complete test of the auditory system

The gold standard of care for deaf or hard-of-hearing people should always include a complete test of the auditory system. Without a full auditory system check, your audiologist won't be able to examine and evaluate you thoroughly.

When a new patient walks through the door, it is the audiologist's job to figure out the health and function of their entire auditory system. From the ear canal to the auditory cortex, your doctor must know precisely what's working and what isn't. 

Audiologists can perform a variety of tests that will show them everything they need to know about your auditory system. This will help them determine if medical management is required. For example, with a full auditory system test, they will be able to see if your hearing loss can be fixed or treated by an ear, nose, and throat doctor. 

All of these tests should be done before getting hearing aids. This is why a complete examination of the auditory system is a vital part of the gold standard of care.

4. Include real ear verification tests

Another important thing to look out for when searching for gold standard care is a real ear verification test. This is a vital test for anybody looking to improve their hearing with the right assistive technology and get on the road to recovery. 

During this test, small tube microphones are placed into the ear canal by the eardrum. These microphones measure what the hearing aid is doing in your ear. This is how audiologists see what you're hearing, and it's how they can program your hearing aid correctly.

Without real ear verification, your hearing aid will not be programmed correctly to your prescription, which means you won't be able to use it as well as you should. Without this test, you may be missing certain sounds, or other things may be too loud. 

5. Include a support system

The final part of the gold standard is having a support system around you while at a clinic. Having somebody there that has the experience and the knowledge to ensure you receive the highest quality care possible is vital for your success with your hearing aid.

Our support system includes two of the industry's most experienced and personable audiology assistants. Our assistants have almost 20 years of combined experience and will provide you with the best care possible. From the moment you walk in the door to when you leave, you'll know you're in good hands with our team.

The bottom line? If your audiologist isn't providing you with the gold standard of care, then we'd suggest moving elsewhere. If you’re in the Sacramento area, get the gold standard care you deserve and book a hearing test with our team of audiologists. Schedule your appointment online or call 916.646.2471.