If you’ve noticed any symptoms of hearing loss, then it’s time to consider scheduling a hearing evaluation with an audiologist. Hearing loss treatment starts with an evaluation, which will determine what tones you can hear and what tones you can’t, the extent (or severity) of your hearing loss, whether it’s occurring in one ear or both, where the interruption to your hearing is occurring (outer, middle or inner ear) and potential causes.
Step One: Initial Discussion
Before starting any kinds of tests and screenings, you’ll sit down with the audiologist to discuss your hearing health. This is your opportunity to bring up the symptoms you’ve noticed and how long you’ve had them (some people wait ten years or more to seek help with their hearing loss). Your audiologist will also gather information about your medical history (many health conditions can affect hearing, such as diabetes, previous stroke or hypertension), profession (especially if you work in a noisy industry, such as construction), medications you’re currently taking, lifestyle and social life.
Step Two: Ear Examination
Next, your audiologist will perform a visual examination of your ears, also called an otoscopy. They’ll inspect the outer ears and ear canals, looking for anything that could impact your hearing, such as earwax buildup or damage to your eardrum. To perform this, they’ll use an otoscope, which contains a light and a magnifying lens to provide a better view. This should not be uncomfortable at all.
Step Three: Diagnostic Testing
The third step is evaluating your hearing ability, and there are several tests your audiologist can perform to do so. Which tests and how many they elect to do will be determined by your initial discussion and ear examination. For example, they probably won’t need to do a tympanometry test if you’ve never had an ear injury and your eardrum looked healthy during the otoscopy.
- Pure tone testing happens in a soundproof room while you wear headphones, through which you’ll listen to sounds at various pitches. You’ll click a button or raise your hand when you hear the tone.
- Speech testing is a more nuanced test that discerns how well you can hear speech and spoken communication in various settings. This test also uses headphones, but the audio is of speech, rather than tones.
- Bone conduction testing is similar to the pure tone test, but in this case, the headphones project sound to the inner ear instead of through the outer ear.
- Tympanometry testing tests how well your eardrum moves when hit by a sound wave.
- Acoustic reflex testing measures how the muscles in the ear respond to sound, determining where in the ear your hearing issues may originate.
- Auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing is similar to acoustic reflex testing, but it measures brainwave activity instead of muscle contractions.
- Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) testing measures the response of an organ in your inner ear, which is critical to transmitting hearing information to the brain.
Step Four: Discuss Results
From there, our skilled audiologists will take your results and tailor a hearing loss treatment plan just for you. This plan may involve hearing aids or other hearing devices, and your audiologist will use their professional knowledge to recommend the perfect device for your hearing needs.
If you’re ready to take this step in your hearing loss journey and begin the treatment you need, contact Bangor Audiology today to schedule an appointment.