A Hearing Evaluation

Visiting a hearing care professional is a huge step towards better hearing - and it’s easier then you might think. It doesn’t take long and it doesn’t hurt. The consultation is obligation free. Remember to take someone with you to keep you company and to help you remember what’s being said.

Before the appointment it’s a good idea to make some notes regarding your family life, social life and hobbies. And consider some specific situations in which you’d like to hear more clearly.

Lots of people have difficulty hearing speech in noisy places such as meeting rooms, parties, restaurants, supermarkets, etc. Once you’ve decided which situations are important, list them in order of priority, ready to discuss with your hearing care professional.

In an hour he or she will be able to establish exactly what the person can and cannot hear, and the type of hearing loss they may have.

After a standard ear examination it is time to step into a sound booth, where they listen through headphones to a series of pure tones ranging from the deep bass to the high treble. Most everyday environmental sounds and speech are situated in this range of frequencies. The listener confirms that they have heard each sound either by raising a hand or pressing a response button.

The hearing care professional will then gradually decrease the volume of the sounds, to determine exactly where it becomes difficult for the listener to hear. This boundary is called the hearing threshold. These levels are then recorded on a simple graph known as an audiogram - it is a profile of the person’s hearing ability.

A lady receives a check up from an audiologist