There’s more to a hearing appointment than a hearing test. That’s because there are many factors that affect your hearing, from your age to your lifestyle. Any good hearing professional will address these factors, so it helps to be prepared.
Here are four steps to your hearing appointment that you should be aware of.
1. Your Hearing Professional will want to know your hearing concerns, medical history, and lifestyle factors
Although a hearing test can tell you what decibels you can’t hear or find difficulty hearing, an understanding of your personal struggles with hearing loss can help your hearing professional recommend a solution that addresses your concerns.
It is also important for your hearing professional to know your medical history. Researchers have linked many medical conditions like Meniere’s disease and dementia to hearing loss. Certain medications may affect your hearing as well. You can’t treat all hearing losses with hearing aids, and depending on your hearing issues, you may be referred to an Ear, Throat and Nose Specialist instead.
2. Your hearing loss may just be ear wax! You’ll find out during your physical ear examination
Your audiologist will conduct a visual exam of your ears to check for any earwax blockages or other irregularities. This portion of the exam will help the audiologist understand if there are any medical explanations for your hearing loss.
3. Finally, you’ll take your comprehensive hearing test
Your appointment will include a series of tests – such as tone, speech, and word recognition tests - which measure various elements of your hearing to gain a thorough understanding of the condition of your hearing. Try your best, but don’t stress if you can’t hear certain things. The test is meant to help you get on the path to hearing better, not to judge you.
4. No need to wait. You’ll get on-the-spot results
You will also get recommendations from your hearing professional, depending on your results. These can include hearing aids, noise protection options, and/or lifestyle choices you can implement to promote healthy hearing.
All these steps happen at HearingLife for free if you are over the age of 19. Plus, with over 250 clinics nationwide, HearingLife makes it convenient to receive quality hearing healthcare.
