Taking care of your hearing health is a critical part of your overall health. We’ve compiled some information on what to expect at your appointment if you’ve recently scheduled a hearing evaluation with our team.
Preliminary Discussion
To begin the appointment, you and your audiologist will have an in-depth discussion about your hearing health. You’ll cover your hearing loss symptoms, possible causes, profession (the CDC reports that 1 in 4 workers in the U.S. have been exposed to hazardous noise), lifestyle, medical history and family medical history. Your audiologist will use this information to learn more about your hearing loss and how to treat it.
Hearing Test(s)
Next, you’ll undergo some assessments. There are many types of hearing tests, and you probably won’t have all of them done, but each type of hearing test plays a role in determining the type, cause, severity and site of your hearing loss. All of these tests are easy and painless.
The most common type of hearing test is the pure-tone test. In this test, you’ll sit in a soundproof room and wear noise-canceling headphones, which will play a series of beeps at various pitches and volumes. The results of this test will reveal your hearing threshold, or the softest level at which you’re able to hear sound.
Evaluation
The evaluation is the natural conclusion of the preliminary discussion and the hearing test results. It’s at this stage that your audiologist will make a hearing loss diagnosis, go over your hearing test results with you and explain what they mean for your hearing, discuss treatment options and answer any questions you may have. This discussion can be long and information-dense, so we recommend bringing a notebook or using a note-taking app on your phone to write down information and avoid feeling overloaded.
We’ll See You at Your Appointment!
These are the three phases of a standard hearing evaluation. You’ll leave the clinic with clarity about your hearing loss and a customized treatment plan underway. We’re excited to take this step in your hearing journey with you.
If you have any questions prior to your appointment, feel free to call us. We want to make sure you feel prepared and confident for your evaluation.
