Testing hearing aids involves a mix of professional verification, app-based diagnostics, and simple at-home checks you can do yourself. Whether you just got new hearing aids and want to confirm they’re working correctly, or you’ve worn them for years and suspect something is off, there are reliable ways to evaluate performance at every level.
Start With a Professional Verification
The most accurate way to test whether your hearing aids are doing their job is a procedure called real-ear measurement, sometimes referred to as speechmapping. An audiologist places a thin probe microphone inside your ear canal alongside your hearing aid and measures the actual sound output at different frequencies and volume levels. This measured output is then compared against evidence-based targets specific to your hearing loss. It’s the only way to confirm that amplification is landing where it should, not just approximating based on software defaults.
Real-ear measurement is considered the gold standard for hearing aid verification because every ear canal is shaped differently, and those physical differences change how sound behaves before it reaches your eardrum. Two people with identical hearing loss wearing the same hearing aid can get meaningfully different results. After a successful real-ear test, your audiologist can confidently tell you the acoustic fit is accurate and that the next step is simply wearing the devices during all waking hours to let your brain adapt to the newly amplified sounds.
Not every provider performs real-ear measurement by default, so it’s worth asking for it specifically. If you’ve been wearing hearing aids for a while and have never had this done, requesting it at your next appointment is one of the most useful things you can do.
Speech-in-Noise Testing
Difficulty understanding speech in background noise is the single most common complaint among people treated for hearing loss. Quiet-room hearing tests don’t capture this problem well, which is why audiologists use speech-in-noise tests to measure how your hearing aids perform in more realistic conditions.
Several standardized tests exist for this. The QuickSIN is one of the most widely used: you listen to sentences spoken over increasingly loud background chatter, and the results help determine whether features like directional microphones or assistive listening devices would improve your experience. For moderate difficulty in noise, directional microphones are typically recommended. For severe difficulty, an FM system or remote microphone may be the better solution. Other tests like the Hearing in Noise Test focus specifically on evaluating directional microphone benefit, while the Words in Noise test isolates basic auditory processing by using single words instead of sentences.
These tests can be done both before and after fitting. Running them after you’ve been wearing hearing aids for a few weeks gives you and your audiologist a direct, measurable picture of how much benefit you’re actually getting in the environments where you struggle most. It also helps you understand your own limitations in noise, which can be genuinely useful for setting realistic expectations.
Use Your Manufacturer’s App
If your hearing aids connect to a smartphone app, you may already have a built-in diagnostic tool. Starkey’s My Starkey app, for example, includes a feature called Self Check that tests the three core electronic components of each hearing aid: the microphone, the receiver (speaker), and the circuit. In a few taps, it examines these parts for wax buildup or debris and reports results using a simple color system. A green checkmark means performance is normal. A yellow exclamation point means the device needs cleaning or attention. A red X means you should contact your hearing care provider for repair.
Tapping the details link for any flagged component gives step-by-step guidance on what maintenance to try at home versus what requires professional help. Other major manufacturers like Phonak and Oticon offer similar, though less detailed, diagnostic features in their respective apps. If you haven’t explored your hearing aid app beyond volume adjustments, it’s worth spending five minutes checking what diagnostic tools are available.
Test Your Hearing Independently
Sometimes the question isn’t whether your hearing aids are functioning correctly but whether your hearing itself has changed. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health released a free app called Hearing Number that lets you test each ear in about five minutes using any pair of headphones or earbuds in a quiet room. The app measures what clinicians call the four-frequency pure tone average, which is the same metric the World Health Organization uses to define categories of hearing loss. You can track your results over time to spot changes. The app doesn’t collect personal data and is available on both iOS and Android.
This kind of self-test is especially helpful if you wear over-the-counter hearing aids and don’t have regular audiologist visits. A shift in your hearing numbers could signal that your current amplification settings need updating.
Check Your Batteries
Weak or failing batteries are behind a surprising number of “my hearing aids sound wrong” complaints. If your hearing aids use disposable zinc-air batteries, a simple battery tester can tell you whether the issue is the device or its power source.
A fresh zinc-air battery straight from the package should read between 1.1 and 1.38 volts with the tab still on (some well-sealed batteries may read below 0.9 volts with the tab intact, which is normal). Within 15 seconds of pulling the tab, voltage should climb above 1.3 volts, which is the minimum needed to operate a hearing aid. During normal use, batteries run at about 1.25 volts. Once a battery drops to around 1.31 volts under load, some hearing aids begin to fade or cut out. If you’re experiencing intermittent sound dropouts or distortion, testing the battery voltage before anything else can save you an unnecessary trip to the audiologist.
For rechargeable hearing aids, check that the charging contacts on both the aids and the charger are clean and free of debris. A hearing aid that isn’t making full contact with its charger will slowly lose charge throughout the day and may behave as though it’s malfunctioning.
Troubleshoot Common Sound Problems
Certain sounds point to specific issues you can often resolve at home. Whistling or feedback usually means the hearing aid isn’t seated properly in your ear canal. Remove it and reinsert it carefully. If the whistling continues, earwax or debris may be blocking the canal, or the fit of the earmold or dome may have changed (this happens gradually as ear canals shift shape over time).
Static, crackling, or intermittent cutting out often points to moisture damage, a clogged microphone port, or a failing receiver. Try cleaning the microphone opening with the brush or pick tool that came with your hearing aids, and use a drying kit or dehumidifier overnight. If the problem persists after cleaning and a fresh battery or full charge, the issue is likely internal and needs professional attention.
Track Your Subjective Experience
Numbers and diagnostics matter, but so does how hearing aids actually feel in your daily life. Audiologists often use a structured questionnaire called the Client Oriented Scale of Improvement to capture this. At your first appointment, you identify specific listening situations that are important to you: following conversation at a restaurant, hearing your grandchild on the phone, catching dialogue on TV without cranking the volume. At follow-up visits, you rate how much each situation has improved and what your current ability level is.
You don’t need a formal questionnaire to do this yourself. Write down three to five specific situations where you want to hear better before you start wearing new hearing aids or after an adjustment. Revisit that list after two to four weeks of consistent wear. If certain situations haven’t improved, bring that specific list to your next appointment. It gives your audiologist far more useful information than “they don’t sound right,” and it directly shapes what adjustments get made.
How Often to Test
A full professional check, including real-ear measurement and cleaning, is worth doing at least once a year. Many audiologists offer “clean and check” appointments every six months, which typically include a visual inspection of the devices, cleaning of ports and tubing, and a listening check to confirm output is normal. If your hearing loss is progressing or you’re over 65, twice-yearly visits help catch changes early enough to adjust programming before you start struggling.
At-home checks with your manufacturer’s app can be done as often as you like, though once a month is a reasonable habit. Battery testing should happen any time sound quality seems off. And if you notice a sudden change in how your hearing aids sound, that warrants a same-week appointment rather than waiting for your next scheduled visit.