Hearing Test - What You Need to Know

Whether you attended one rock concert too many or simply have become hard of hearing as you've gotten older, it's in your best interest to schedule an appointment with an experienced audiologist. This person is a specialist in dealing with ear problems and can perform a hearing test to help you figure out what plan of action is right for you and your ears. Explore what you can expect on your visit.

There are many reasons that can prompt a visit to an audiologist. For example, if things have just seemed off balance for a while, or you notice you lost your audio abilities for a short period of time, this could be a red flag. An audiologist will administer a hearing test to find out what's going on.

When you arrive at the office, you can expect to be questioned regarding your medical history as well as ear history. You may have been a child that had constant ear infections, severe wax buildup, placed strange objects in your ear or more. Or maybe, you suffered with what's known as little ear, when the ears don't fully develop. All this and more can affect your ability to understand sounds.

There are various hearing tests that can be performed in order to determine how major or minor your issues are. The first one may consist of the audiologist inserting a probe into the ear to see if there are any noticeable problems such as issues with your eardrum, scrapes of scratches, pencil lead, or any other foreign objects.

If your ear is clear, then your audiologist may move on to additional screening that can involve testing how your eardrum performs when given minimal pressure. You will hear sounds in your ear and your audiologist can find out if you have fluid in your ear or maybe even an ear infection. Issues like this can greatly impact your ability to listen to things clearly.

Furthermore, you may have a hearing test that requires you to go into a room, put on headsets and listen to sounds. Each time you understand a sound, you will be prompted to press a button or raise a hand. All this helps the specialist know how well and at what level you can hear.

In the end, you results will be put together in a report and you will find out if you simply need a good ear cleaning, a listening device, or maybe a referral to an ear, nose and throat specialist for further inspection.