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How To Get the Most Out of Your Hearing Aid Trial Period

Contributed by Eleni Santarelli, Au.D.

8/22/2025 • 3 min read

Trying hearing aids in your day-to-day life is an important part of knowing if the pair you buy is right for you. At HearingLife, we offer all customers a trial period. Though trial periods can vary by state, you are guaranteed at least 30 days.

The trial period begins on the day you take your devices home. During this time, you will visit your hearing care provider at least once to check in. At the follow-up appointment, your provider will review how to properly clean and care for the devices and adjust the sound quality as needed. It is not uncommon for fine tuning to be needed more than once, especially for someone who is new to using hearing aids!

Your provider will use a test called Real Ear Measurements (REM) when adjusting your hearing aids. This test allows the provider to measure the acoustic properties of the ear canal and combine it with the output of the hearing aid to make sure that the devices are optimized for each patient. This test will either happen at the fitting or at a follow-up appointment.

During the trial period, we encourage patients to test hearing aids out in different environments and make a note on your phone or a pad of paper of any real-time questions or problems that arise.

Test your hearing aids when you:

  • Go out to eat
  • Spend time outdoors (at the park, beach, daily walks, etc.)
  • Conversing with family members and friends. One-on-one and in large groups!

The idea is to experience as much of your everyday life with your hearing aids as possible during the trial period so you can get to know if they are right for you or if you need to make any adjustments to make them more comfortable (physically or noise-wise).

Adjusting to wearing hearing aids and getting used to the improved sound quality can take some time. When you meet with your provider, you should always feel comfortable sharing any difficulties you have with the fit of your hearing aid or the sound. Our providers are more than happy to help you find a solution.

HearingLife also provides our unique OnDemand care during evenings and weekends when the offices may not be open. Just call (888) 277-3802 and a member of our support staff will be happy to assist you in troubleshooting your hearing aids. We know that adapting to hearing aids is a big and exciting step and your provider is here to help support you on this journey!

 

Eleni Santarelli, hearing care professional in a white coat
Dr. Eleni Santarelli
Audiologist Lic #A.02315

Eleni Santarelli grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and obtained her bachelor's degree in speech-language pathology & audiology from the University of Akron in 2017. She then went on to pursue her doctorate in Clinical Audiology at the Northeast Ohio Au.D Consortium. She did her fourth-year externship at the Columbus VA before completing her doctorate in May of 2021. Dr. Santarelli also obtained her certificate in Animal Audiology from the University of Cincinnati. She is licensed in the State of Ohio and is a member of the American Academy of Audiology and the Ohio Academy of Audiology. As a person who loves animals and sports, Dr. Santarelli can be found volunteering at the Cleveland Zoo, coaching basketball and cheering on Cleveland's pro teams in her free time. 

Dr. Santarelli wants to help people hear better because it allows them to have full and meaningful social interactions with their friends, family and keeps them safe in unfamiliar environments. When she helps someone to hear better it makes her feel like she has made a positive difference in their life.

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