What to Expect at Your First Hearing Test

The hearing exam truly is the easy part. The challenging part is acknowledging your hearing loss and actually reserving the hearing test in the first place.

You have more than likely read the stats by now: 48 million individuals in the United States suffer from hearing loss but only a minor fraction actually do anything about it, and only 20 percent of those who would reap benefits from hearing aids actually wear them.

So if you’ve already scheduled your hearing test, great job, you’ve already overcome the greatest barrier to better hearing.

The hearing exam, as you’ll witness, is an easy, non-invasive process that will identify the extent of your hearing loss to help develop the best suited course of treatment.

Shortly after you initially arrive at the office, you’ll start by completing some paperwork. Then, you’ll meet with your hearing care provider to review your hearing health history.

Your Hearing Health History

Your hearing loss, if existing, can be triggered by direct exposure to loud sound, the normal aging process, or by an underlying condition. You’ll want to exclude any underlying medical conditions before proceeding to the actual hearing exam.

If you have an earwax impaction, as an example, you could be hearing better within minutes after a professional cleaning. The presence of any other conditions will be evaluated and the applicable referral made, if necessary.

After going over your basic medical history, you’ll discuss your exposure to loud sounds, your hearing loss symptoms, and what you wish to achieve with better hearing.

It’s crucial to establish potential causes, how symptoms are adversely affective your life, and how better hearing will enhance your life, which is in the end the entire point. Be leery of the practitioner that doesn’t seem to care about the main reasons why you want to enhance your hearing to begin with.

Testing Your Hearing

There’s one more step prior to starting the hearing test: the visual examination of the ear with an instrument called an otoscope. This will help rule out any issues with the ear canal, the eardrum, or the elevated buildup of earwax.

Next, you’ll be accompanied to a sound-treated room with your hearing care provider. You’ll be instructed to wear headphones, and the provider will begin to play you some sounds.

You’ll be presented with a variety of sounds at different frequencies, and you’ll be asked to identify the quietest sounds you can hear at each frequency. This is termed your hearing threshold, and the hearing care provider will document these values on a diagram known as an audiogram.

The hearing test will probably also incorporate speech testing, where you’ll be asked to repeat the words presented to you. Assorted types of words, presented at various volumes with and without background noise, will be presented. This will help establish if hearing aids can help you with speech comprehension.

At the conclusion of the testing, your hearing care professional will discuss the results with you.

Assessing Your Hearing Test Results

Referencing your audiogram, your hearing care provider will now talk about your hearing in both ears. Based on the results, your hearing will be characterized as normal or as displaying mild, moderate, severe, or profound hearing loss.

If a hearing loss is found, the next step is talking about your treatment options. Since there are no current medical or surgical treatments to restore hearing damage, this means assessing your hearing aid options.

Present hearing aids come in a vast array of shapes, sizes, and colors, at different prices with a number of advanced functions and features. In choosing your hearing aids, it’s essential to work with a qualified hearing care professional for three reasons:

1. They can help you identify the best hearing aid model to meet all of your objectives.
2. They can help you identify the advanced functions you need—along with the ones you don’t—at a price that works with your budget.
3. They can program your new hearing aids to amplify only the sounds you have difficulty hearing—determined by the hearing test—ensuring optimal sound quality.

And that’s it, a fast, simple process in exchange for a lifetime of better hearing. We’d say that’s a pretty good deal.

We look forward to seeing you!