Wednesday 8 July 2015

What is a hearing test and does it hurt?


One in six people in UK experience some form of hearing loss, but perhaps unsurprisingly a large percentage of people have never had a hearing assessment or sought professional advice. One of the barriers stopping people for taking this step is the ‘going into the unknown’.

I thought it might be a good idea to briefly explain what to expect from having a hearing test and hopefully help to eradicate any fears you may have.

Having a hearing test is simple, doesn’t hurt and won’t take too much of your time. A full hearing assessment will be performed by a hearing aid audiologist who is a healthcare professional, highly-trained in the prevention, identification, assessment and non-medical treatment of hearing disorders.

The first part of a hearing test is called the case history: you’ll be asked about your medical history, current medical issues, medications, hearing loss symptoms, family history of hearing loss, history of noise exposure, your hearing concerns, etc. This will provide the hearing aid audiologist with an overview of your medical situation and will help them in assessing the hearing test results as well as assist in determining the necessity of a medical referral following the hearing test.

Next the hearing professional will examine your ear canals and eardrum with a specialised ear light called an otoscope. This is necessary to check for issues such as wax in your ear canal or infection of the outer ear.

Finally, it is time to begin the hearing test itself. You will be placed in a sound treated test booth or a quiet room. During the hearing test, a series of tones of different frequencies (also known as pitches) as well as speech signals will be presented to each ear separately through earphones. You will respond to test signals either by pushing a button, or in the case of speech signals, repeating what was heard.

The lowest levels of the test signals you can hear at least half of the time are called your hearing thresholds. Thresholds are recorded for each frequency and each ear on a chart called an audiogram.

Once your type and degree of hearing loss has been determined, your hearing care professional will be able to decide how much amplification you will need; they may then show you a range of instruments appropriate for your individual hearing loss and together you can decide what is right for you.

My final words of wisdom…

Take the opportunity to look after yourself and those you love by having your hearing checked; take positive steps to actively protect the precious sense that allows you to hear your world- your hearing.