Are you feeling nervous about your hearing test? Are you unsure what you should expect? It’s so important to feel comfortable when going to this appointment. Your hearing health is one of the most important aspects of your overall health, and the older you are, the more likely you’ll deal with age-related hearing loss.
This is why having an annual hearing test should be utilized. Not only will this help reduce the risk of age-related hearing loss, but it can help with other issues too. So, what can you expect? What will the results tell you about your hearing health? Keep reading on to learn more!
Before Your Test
Did you know that before your hearing tests, there may be a few things you’ll need to prepare for? Before your hearing test is scheduled, you’ll have an intake process with your hearing health professional.
You’re going to be asked to fill out some forms; this can include information such as the medication you’re currently taking, symptoms, health and hearing concerns, medical history, family history involving hearing, health habits and your insurance details. This intake is nothing more than a short discussion; they need this information to help narrow your overall test results. Plus, this is the perfect time to ask questions.
Information and Results You May Expect
So, when it comes to examinations given by your hearing health professional, you can sometimes find out the underlying causes for things. For instance, if you’ve recently noticed you have hearing issues or tinnitus, they’ll give you a hearing exam and potentially other exams so they can narrow down what may have impacted your hearing health. Here are a few things you could potentially expect when talking to your audiologist about the results.
Ear Infections
Sometimes a common cold can turn into an ear infection. If you’ve ever had a bad cold or infection, then you probably noticed that your hearing isn’t what it should be. Ear infections are the result of bacterial, fungal or viral infections that affect the middle ear, the air-filled space behind the eardrum that contains tiny bones that amplify sound.
Infections in this part of the ear can reduce or even prevent hearing. Usually, it’s going to be your general practitioner that looks into this, but if your infection is gone and you’re still dealing with hearing loss, a hearing health professional will want you to take a test to help determine what may have happened.
Meniere’s Disease
One of the effects of Meniere’s disease is hearing loss, and tinnitus can be an underlying sign of this disease. Meniere’s disease is a condition that causes sudden episodes of vertigo accompanied by hearing loss and tinnitus. It’s usually confined to one ear but can affect both ears in rare cases.
The disease causes an overproduction of fluid in the inner ear, which can interfere with the function of the hair cells in that area. The increased pressure can cause dizziness. You can expect audiometry, which plays sounds through headphones to determine whether you have hearing loss. They’ll also check your balance with a vestibular test battery.
Age-Related Hearing Loss
Usually, age-related hearing loss begins when someone is in their 50s, but sometimes it can happen a bit earlier. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, as everyone deals with age-related hearing loss in some form. Your hearing health professional will let you know what pitches you’re able to hear and will most likely recommend a hearing aid.
