Comprehensive Hearing Healthcare Begins with a Comprehensive Hearing Assessment

Hearing loss comes on slowly. It is as noticeable as watching paint dry. Most people don’t even know that they have it until someone tells them. However, there are some early warning signs that could indicate that a hearing assessment is necessary, which might include:

• Complaints by others that the volume on your television is too loud
• Asking others to repeat themselves more frequently
• Avoiding social gatherings or going to restaurants because you can’t enjoy conversations
• Struggling to understand conversations with women or children
• Avoiding phone conversations because you struggle to understand
• Continuous buzzing, ringing or hissing in your ears.

These and other warning signs might require a simple or complex solution, but we can’t really start treating the problem until we know what we are up against. A comprehensive hearing evaluation is the first step toward better hearing, greater independence and an improved quality of life. From your hearing assessment, conducted by our audiologist, we will be able to identify the cause of your hearing loss, and then provide the treatment or treatment options designed to restore part, if not most of your hearing capacity.

What to Expect from a Hearing Test

People avoid seeking treatment for their hearing loss because they are unsure of what is involved in a hearing test. No matter your age, no matter your circumstances; if you think your hearing might not be what it used to be, you are welcome at the Hearing Center of Dublin ENT. Here is a rundown of what you can expect from a hearing test.

A Friendly Conversation

We are interested in more than your ears, so we want to get to know you right up front. Getting to know you involves a conversation about your work, hobbies and interests, lifestyle and concerns you have about your hearing. Our conversation will lead into your family and medical history as well as a discussion about various medications or treatments you might be undergoing. Besides having a true interest in who you are, this conversation gives us some insight into possible causes and treatment options we might consider.

A Physical Examination of Your Ears

After our conversation, the audiologist will examine the structures of your ear. This involves the use of an otoscope, which is the technical name for a magnifying glass with a tapered tip and a light at one end. This allows the doctor to identify obstructions and inflammation in the ear canal as well as take a closer look at possible damage to the eardrum and middle ear structures.

Tympanogram

Following a physical examination of the ear structures, the doctor will conduct a tympanogram. This test includes a slight change of pressure in your ears along with the transmission of a tone. Its purpose is to detect how your eardrum and middle ear structures respond to sound, allowing the identification of ruptures or fluid behind the eardrum, which results in temporary and treatable hearing loss.

Hearing Threshold Testing

What most people call the “hearing test” is the next step in our assessment process. The audiologist will set you up in a quiet, sound-treated room or enclosure designed to eliminate background noise and distractions. We will fit you with headphones connected to an audiometer to conduct three hearing threshold tests:

1. Pure-tone Audiometry

Using the audiometer, the tester transmits a variety of tones at different pitches and volumes into the earphones. You will respond to those sounds as you hear them. This test establishes the lowest volume of sound you can hear at each tested frequency.

2. Speech Audiometry

Similar to the pure-tone test, recorded or live speech will be transmitted into your earphones at various volumes and tones. You will repeat back the words you hear, which helps to identify your capacity to understand spoken conversation.

3. Speech with Background Noise

A variation of speech audiometry, this test adds background noises at various volumes and tones along with recorded or live speech. This provides a “real-world” indication of your hearing capacity in various environments.

Schedule a Hearing Assessment

Comprehensive hearing care begins with a comprehensive hearing assessment. We can’t treat your hearing without knowing what we’re up against.

If you are straining to hear conversations in crowded rooms, tend to turn up the volume on the t.v. or radio, and/or seem to be asking others to repeat themselves with greater frequency, you could be suffering a hearing loss. There is no better time than today to take the first step to better hearing, greater independence and a higher quality of life by using our form to schedule a hearing assessment.

Schedule A Hearing Assessment Online