UK private audiology mostly divides into two camps.

The first focuses on Real Ear Measurement — fitting the hearing aid so the sound at the eardrum matches a prescriptive target. This is evidence-based and rigorous. When patients say “it’s loud and echoey,” they are usually told the brain will adapt.

The second skips Real Ear Measurement and relies on subjective fine-tuning instead — “how does this sound?” — using the time saved to focus on selling the device. Patients are often told to live with what they have.

Both groups are missing something the other one has.

Real Ear Measurement verifies the hearing aid up to the eardrum.

Heareka™ continues the verification work all the way to how the brain actually experiences sound — through structured, mirrored subjective fine-tuning sessions that are built on top of the Real Ear baseline, not instead of it.

The British Society of Audiology guidance puts it this way: “Probe microphone measurements are a good starting point for hearing device fittings, but should not preclude further adjustments based on patient feedback and clinical judgement.”

The guidance is right. It is also not specific about what further adjustments to make, or when, or how. Heareka™ is the protocol that fills in those gaps.

BestHear’s working definition of a successful hearing aid fitting is two-part:

1. The wearer forgets they are wearing them.
2. Other people are not reminded the wearer needs help with their hearing.

That second part is the one most fittings overlook. A hearing aid that whistles, that makes the wearer’s own voice sound boomy, that needs constant manual adjustment, that draws attention every time someone shouts in a restaurant — none of that is success, no matter what the audiogram-matched gain looks like. Hearing aids should do the job they were designed for, without the unwanted side effects.

The framework BestHear uses to keep this on the rails is called CASE:

• Comfort — physical fit, listening fatigue, all-day wearability
• Appearance — how the device sits with the wearer’s identity, not against it
• Sound — clarity in real environments, not just in a clinic
• Ease of Use — minimum manual intervention, maximum automatic behaviour

Modern hearing aids are extraordinarily capable. They have programmes, scenes, app controls, manual adjustments, environment classifiers, directional microphones that can be steered, Bluetooth, equalisation, noise reduction, speech enhancers, tinnitus maskers — the list keeps growing.

That capability is useful. The capability the wearer has to think about, every day, is a tax on attention. BestHear’s working assumption runs the opposite way to feature-stacking: most options are set to automatic, the device makes its own decisions in the background, and the wearer puts them on in the morning and forgets about them.

Less is more. The fewer reminders the wearer has that they are wearing hearing aids, the more successful the fitting is.

• A full diagnostic hearing assessment — pure tone audiometry with insert earphones, tympanometry, speech audiometry, otoscopy
• Real Ear Measurement against prescriptive targets, calibrated to BSA standards
• The Heareka™ subjective fine-tuning protocol — structured listening across noise, quiet, voice, music, and the patient’s own voice; mirrored adjustments to bass, mid, and treble bands
• Fitting and aftercare across multiple appointments, with follow-up built into the plan rather than charged extra
• Premium hearing aid technology from leading manufacturers, fitted to the methodology rather than to a sales target

Heareka™ Demo: Complimentary with conditions — see booking page for details.
Full Heareka™ Fitting: Quoted per-patient based on technology level and fitting plan; aftercare and follow-up are included, not charged separately.

“With the purchase of new hearing aids in 2024, I was prepared to travel the additional distance to make sure that the programming was specialised for my particular needs and really made the most of the available technology. The Heareka level of detail has made such a difference to every facet of my daily life. Technology for hearing aids is now very advanced, but what I feel is sometimes lacking is the human and personal adjustments to make sure that the technology is perfectly tuned for the individual. The initial setting is suggested by the hearing test results and is automatically programmed. Using all his experience, Mr Armaj Ali then adjusted these settings based on a number of interactions. The noisy environment, the quiet whispering, the fluctuating TV, the restaurant cacophony, the sound of your own voice. All these subtle adjustments made the hearing aids feel a part of me. I now wear my hearing aids everywhere — no matter how noisy or quiet. They improve the experience each and every time.”

— Ioan Hefin, professional actor, BestHear patient (Google review, 2024)

BestHear is led by Armaj Ali, the originator of the Heareka™ methodology and the only audiologist in the UK to hold dual registration as a Clinical Scientist (HCPC) and Hearing Aid Dispenser (AHCS) at this level. Almost two decades of clinical experience across the NHS and private sector underpin every Heareka™ fitting at BestHear.

The Heareka™ trademark is owned by the practice and licensed strictly to clinicians who can deliver to the methodology’s standard.

1. Book a Heareka™ Demo Appointment online or by calling 01792 940032
2. Attend the demo at BestHear, Swansea — hear what Heareka™ sounds like before any commitment
3. Decide whether to proceed with a full fitting; aftercare and follow-up are built into the plan, not charged separately

The demo is the cleanest way to assess whether Heareka™ is right for you, without committing to a device.

• Hearing aids that work in real environments — restaurants, family meals, watching TV at normal volume without subtitles
• Speech clarity in background noise, not just in quiet rooms
• Loudness tolerance from day one, without months of “your brain will adapt”
• Their own voice not sounding tinny or boomy — a common complaint that most fittings fail to address
• Aftercare that is part of the package, not an upsell

Hearing aid technology has converged. The premium devices from the major manufacturers — Phonak, Resound, Oticon, Signia, Widex, Starkey — are all clinically excellent at the top tier.

What separates a hearing aid that gets worn from one that ends up in a drawer is rarely the device itself. It is the fitting protocol used. Heareka™ is the protocol.