5 Ways to Prepare for a Hearing Test

If you’ve noticed changes in your hearing over time, you may be thinking about scheduling a hearing test. You visit the dentist and the eye doctor, so how about the audiologist? Your ears are just as important as your eyes and teeth! If you haven’t been to an audiologist in years (or decades) you may be wondering what to expect at a hearing exam. Here are five ways to prepare for a hearing test.

Gather your health records

Your audiologist will ask you questions about your health history and any medications you take. Because audiologists do a physical examination of your ears along with hearing tests, you’ll want to have this information ready. Your hearing loss may be conductive, sensorineural or both. Conductive hearing loss means something is impeding the sound waves from being processed. Sensorineural hearing loss usually is age-related. If your hearing loss is due to medical issues, your audiologist will be able to diagnose and determine a treatment. If it’s age-related or mixed, hearing aids may improve your hearing.

Write it down

Take note of situations where you have trouble hearing, such as at a party or a noisy restaurant. Also keep track of when someone says the TV volume is too loud or tells you you’re asking them to repeat themselves. The more situations you relate, the better your audiologist can determine how best to treat any hearing loss. It’s also a good idea to write down any questions you have about the visit, the tests and treatments.

Do some research

A hearing test actually consists of several exams. First is the physical exam, followed by a pure tone test and speech test. Sometimes a tuning fork test also is used to determine conductive or sensorineural loss. These results are charted for you on an audiogram. Based upon your results, your audiologist may suggest that you need hearing aids. Prior to your visit, check the audiologist’s website for some informational articles and do some online research. Talk to friends who wear hearing aids to see if they have any tips or suggestions. When you know the basics about the different styles of hearing aids, it makes discussing your options easier.

Check your insurance

Some insurance policies cover hearing tests, others do not. It’s a good idea to determine your benefits before you have a hearing test.

Take a friend

There can be a lot of information given after your hearing test. Ask a friend or a relative to go with you for support and to help you decide how best to proceed based upon your results.

These five ways to prepare for a hearing test should provide you with enough information to confidently speak with your audiologist and move forward with any suggested treatments. Because hearing tests are simple and painless, there’s no reason to delay if you suspect that you have a hearing loss.