Questions to Ask During Your Hearing Test

If you have a hearing test coming up with your hearing health professional, it is essential that you make the most of it. While your hearing health professional will naturally take great care of you throughout the process, asking the right questions helps you gain extra clarity. Feeling prepared will allow you to enter the hearing test with greater confidence. Here are a few questions you should ask.

What Does a Hearing Test Involve?

Even before you visit the hearing health professional, it is good to ask what examinations will be used during the hearing test. Knowing what to expect from speech testing, pure-tone testing and other assessments will make the process feel less overwhelming. Before your test, your hearing health professional will discuss what the process will look like, this can help to ease any concerns you may have about a hearing test.

How Severe is My Hearing Loss?

Your hearing health professional will discuss your results with you after the test. This will include the severity of your hearing loss. Hearing loss is classified as mild, moderate, severe or profound. However, everyone has a unique profile. Your hearing health professional will show you your audiogram and that will have the decibel levels to help you understand more about the severity of loss you are experiencing.

What Has Caused My Hearing Loss?

When hearing loss is present, it’s important to ask your hearing health professional about the root cause. For many, it is due to age but there are other issues like hereditary health conditions, medical conditions or physical trauma.

Will Hearing Aids Help?

For most patients who have hearing loss, your hearing health professional will suggest wearing hearing aids as a management strategy. The hearing test is your chance to ask more about them and how much of a difference they could make in your daily life.

Which Types of Hearing Aids Are Right for Me?

Hearing aids are available in many styles including behind the ear (BTE), in the ear (ITE) and in the canal (ITC). Depending on the level of hearing loss, as well as other factors like your lifestyle, your hearing health professional can advise you on which will be right for your hearing loss.

How Can I Transition to Wearing Hearing Aids?

When you first start to wear hearing aids, it can be an overwhelming experience. Simple steps, like only wearing them indoors for the first few days or gradually increasing the duration of wear can help to getting accustomed to wearing your hearing aids.

What Can Be Done to Prevent Further Hearing Loss?

There are many steps individuals can take to prevent further hearing loss, like making lifestyle changes and wearing hearing protection when in noisy environments. Your hearing health professional can give you advice on how to prevent further hearing loss from happening.

If hearing loss is diagnosed, you will need to schedule a further appointment for steps like hearing aid fittings. Even if hearing loss is not discovered, though, knowing when to schedule your next hearing test helps you stay on top of your hearing health. If you want to learn more about hearing test contact a hearing health professional.