Do you need a hearing test and how do they work?
If you suspect that you have some form of hearing loss, you are not alone. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders indicates that roughly 15 percent of adults age 18 and above report some hearing difficulty.
Although it’s normal to be apprehensive about taking medical tests for fear of what they may uncover or fear of the tests themselves, the worst thing that anybody can do is bury their head in the sand and ignore the problem.
As the earlier that a hearing loss is found, the easier it is to do something about — whereas an untreated hearing loss often worsens resulting in it being more of a “damage limitation” challenge.
The hardest part of hearing loss is that it is very gradual, nobody wakes up and discovers a hearing loss, it happens over months and years, often so gradual that it’s unnoticeable.
The first signs are usually simple things like missing parts of conversations, or struggling to hear others when there’s background noise — but most commonly, it’s your friends and loved ones who notice on your behalf.
What happens at a hearing test?
1. A friendly conversation
The first thing that happens is a friendly and relaxed conversation to discuss your general health history, your hearing health and the reasons that you have decided to have your hearing tested.
This includes discussing your lifestyle your interests and employment duties to pinpoint any areas of risk and how they impact your hearing.
Although hearing loss can happen to anybody at any time, you need to be aware of certain risk factors such as age, work history, hobbies, and entertainment choices.
2. A physical exam
The next step is a physical examination of your ear canal to see if anything may be impacting your hearing ability. This is completed using a handheld device called an otoscope to assess the condition of your eardrum and look for any inflammation.
3. Administering the four hearing tests
After the physical exam, A series of test will be performed including acknowledgment of sound, understanding in quiet, understanding in noise, and ability to understand conversational speech.
4. Review the results
Once the testing is complete, the results will be gone over with you in detail. If a hearing loss is discovered, your audiologist will go over options for you and give their expert recommendation.
Should you book a hearing test? Although the common signs are subtle, the benefits of putting your mind to rest by having your hearing tested is certainly the recommendation of doctors of audiology throughout the United States.