Do you think you might be experiencing a hearing loss? Then you shouldn’t delay- call Pacific Hearing Care today and schedule a hearing evaluation. Hearing is one of the five essential senses and it affects all aspects of your life including your general health. Sadly, statistics show the average adult waits between five and seven years before seeking treatment. Think of what you will miss!
Hearing exams are private, painless, and take just a short time out of your life. All of your questions will be answered by caring professionals who also make sure though follow-up visits that you are getting the best treatment possible. Here’s what a hearing test entails and what you can expect.
What a Hearing Test Determines
A hearing test gauges your ability to receive and process sounds. If there is a hearing loss present, a hearing test will provide information the type of hearing loss (conductive, sensorineural or mixed) and whether treatment is needed. A painless, physical examination of the eardrum and ear muscles may also be conducted during the hearing test.
Your Medical History & Your Lifestyle
During the hearing test, we will go through your personal medical and family health history. Family history can sometimes help determine if there are any genetic or inherited issues. Your personal medical history is important because things like allergies, head colds, infections and even ear wax impaction, can cause temporary or permanent hearing damage.
We will also discuss your lifestyle in regards to hearing. We will ask about your exposure to noise. If you work in a loud environment, noise-induced hearing loss could be an issue. Nearly 30 million people each year are exposed to harmful noise levels in a working environment. The symptoms of hearing loss are important, and we will talk about instances where you’ve noticed that hearing loss has interfered with your life.
We will ask about different parts of your life – from work to hobbies as well as social interaction. All these factors will help determine your treatment. For instance, if you enjoy swimming as an exercise and hobby, there may be special hearing devices, ear molds and even storage options we can help you with. The more we know, the better we can help you.
Hearing Tests
The hearing test is conducted in a private sound-treated room or booth. This controlled environment filters out external sounds that could interfere with the test. There are no sounds like keyboards or printers to distract you or corrupt the data we are collecting. During the course of the hearing test, you may be asked to indicate when you hear a tone. An audiometer will measure what tones you are able to hear.
You may be asked to repeat words during the speech recognition portion of the hearing test. Words that you are asked to repeat will be played at different levels to determine what you can hear.
Discussing Your Results
Following the tests, we will go over your audiogram with you. An audiogram is a visual representation of your hearing abilities and will provide you with information such as the different pitches you can hear and the different sound frequencies you find audible. Each ear is tested and graphed separately. If a hearing loss is present, the audiogram will provide information on the type, configuration, and degree of hearing loss that you experience. This will help determine the treatment that would best you’re your hearing needs.
Treating Hearing Loss
If you need hearing aids or other assistive hearing devices, there are many to choose from. There are models to fit every lifestyle and budget. Using the results from your hearing test, our team will discuss your options with you. We’ll work with you to find the best fit for your hearing needs.
Visit Us at Pacific Hearing Care
At Pacific Hearing Care, we make sure that you are at ease during your hearing evaluation, that you fully understand your options, and that you are comfortable with the hearing devices used to treat your hearing loss. If you suspect you are having hearing issues, or you haven’t had a regular hearing evaluation, call our office today and set up an appointment for a hearing test!