Measure Hearing Loss

Signs of Hearing Loss

How often have you experienced the following situations?

• People are talking but you have to strain to fully understand them.
• At meetings or with family and friends you often ask them to repeat what they say.
• You don't laugh at jokes because you've missed the story & punch line.
• You get frustrated because you feel others are constantly mumbling.
• You keep turning up the sound on the TV and radio while the family turns it down.
• You are often speaking loud and asked to lower your voice.

The First Step: Visit the Audiologist

A visit with an audiologist will help to determine the type and degree of hearing loss you have. An Audiometric Evaluation (AE) will be performed which is a lot more detailed than just hearing a 'beep'. A hearing test should include:

• Testing the lowest sound you can hear,
• Testing how well you can hear in noisy and quiet surroundings,
• Testing your tolerance to loud noise, and
• Testing your hearing with a hearing aid on and off.

A visual inspection of the ear canal along with a case history may determine if a referral is need to for a medical or surgical alternative.

To conduct the test an otoscope will be used to examine inside your ear, this is a short narrow instrument. This is a completely safe and painless procedure. Upon completion of a quick physical exam the audiologist will proceed with a comprehensive hearing test referred to as an audiogram. This procedure is also painless and helps pinpoint your hearing loss including your speech recognition and loudness discomfort levels.