Real Ear Measurement
What Real Ear Measurement Verifies in a Hearing Aid Fitting
A real ear measurement in San Antonio, TX at Precision Hearing places a thin probe microphone just millimeters from your eardrum so we can hear exactly what your hearing aid is delivering — not what the manufacturer's first-fit software predicts. As live speech plays, your Doctor of Audiology compares the sound reaching your ear canal against the NAL or DSL prescription target for your hearing loss and fine-tunes the device in real time until the fit matches the science.
The Verification Step Most Hearing Aid Fitters Skip
Real ear measurement is the published best-practice standard from the American Academy of Audiology and ASHA — yet industry surveys put the share of fitters who actually perform it at roughly 30%. Owners Dr. Joseph Pratt and Dr. Nathan Ortiz built their careers running the US Navy's largest hearing conservation programs at San Diego and Norfolk, where verification was non-negotiable. Every hearing aid leaves our Babcock Rd office with that same probe-microphone-verified fitting.
Real Ear Measurement FAQs
Common questions about real ear measurement in San Antonio — what it tests, how long it adds to a hearing aid appointment, why most clinics skip it, and what verified speech mapping actually changes.
Real ear measurement (REM) — sometimes called probe microphone measurement or live speech mapping — is the only direct way to know how much sound is actually reaching your eardrum once a hearing aid is in place. A soft silicone probe rests in the ear canal while live speech plays through the device, and software compares the result against the prescription target curve calculated from your audiogram.
It matters because manufacturers' first-fit software is a starting point, not the answer. Two people with the same hearing loss can need very different adjustments based on ear canal shape and resonance. Without verification, you're trusting an estimate. With REM, you're listening to a hearing aid tuned to your ear — not someone else's. Call (210) 695-4708 to book a verified fitting.
At Precision Hearing, real ear measurement is built into every hearing aid fitting and follow-up — not billed as an upcharge. The verification step itself takes roughly 10 to 15 minutes per ear on top of the initial programming, plus a short conversation about what you're hearing during the test.
That window is well spent. If a setting needs to come down because high-frequency consonants are sharp, or up because soft speech is being missed, your Doctor of Audiology can see and hear that on the screen and adjust before you walk out. Plan on a fitting visit at our Babcock Rd office running roughly 60 to 90 minutes total — call (210) 695-4708 to book yours.
Yes — every hearing aid fit at Precision Hearing includes real ear measurement verification at the initial appointment and any time the prescription is materially changed. We don't treat REM as a premium add-on or a separate billing line. It is simply how a hearing aid fitting should be done.
That standard holds regardless of how you came to us. Patients who walk in for a Doctor-of-Audiology fitting get the same San Antonio hearing aid verification as veterans coming through TriWest and Community Care. Industry surveys suggest only about 30% of fitters nationally perform real ear measurement; closing that gap is one of the clearest reasons patients see better outcomes after a fitting at our Babcock Rd office.
A standard fitting typically stops where the manufacturer's first-fit software stops: the hearing aid is programmed to a generic target based on your audiogram and handed to you. It may sound fine in the office, but there's no measurement of what's actually reaching your eardrum once the device is seated in your ear canal.
A verified hearing aid fitting with real ear measurement closes that gap. With a probe microphone in place, your Doctor of Audiology can see whether soft speech is too quiet, whether consonants are clipping, and whether feedback margins are safe — and adjust accordingly. The result is a device tuned to your ear, your hearing loss, and your real-world listening — not an averaged estimate from a piece of software.
30-Day Hearing Aid Trial Period
Every set of hearing aids fitted at Precision Hearing in San Antonio, TX comes with a 30-day trial period. Wear your devices where life actually happens — at work, around the dinner table, on a job site, and out across San Antonio. Real-world listening is the only test that counts. If they aren't the right fit within 30 days, bring them back so we can adjust them, exchange them for a different model, or explore another option together.
Patient Reviews
Hear from San Antonio patients who trust our veteran-owned audiology team for unhurried, expert hearing care.
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Trusted by San Antonio's working adults and veterans for unhurried, audiologist-led hearing care built around your life.
Serving San Antonio & the surrounding area
Visit Us in San Antonio
Our Babcock Road office is both a full hearing clinic and the home base for our mobile hearing team — bringing audiologist-led care to San Antonio patients and on-site to local employers.
- Fax: (210) 695-4705
- Veteran-owned & US Navy-trained audiologists
- Doctor of Audiology care at every step
- Fully ADA-accessible office
“They took the time to actually explain my hearing and never pushed me toward anything. As someone still working full-time, I appreciated how thorough and unhurried the whole visit was. Easily the best hearing care experience I've had.”— Verified Google Review
Precision Hearing
Hearing Clinic Mobile Hearing170 Babcock Rd, San Antonio, TX 78201
| Monday | 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM |
| Tuesday | 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM |
| Thursday | 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM |
| Friday | 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed |