When it comes to your overall health, there’s one aspect that often gets overlooked but is actually crucial when you think about how it impacts your quality of life – your hearing. Regular check-ups with a hearing specialist or audiologist can help you keep your hearing in good condition and address any issues before they become bigger ones. Moreover, fall presents an ideal window for scheduling a check-up, as the transitional weather and steady routine offer a stable environment for accurate assessments. By taking this preemptive step, you’re ensuring that you can fully embrace the joys of the season with optimal hearing health.
Understand the Process
One of the best things you can do before your hearing check-up visit is to make sure you understand what it this appointment entails and what you’ll need to do. Knowing the processes involved will help you feel more relaxed and prepared and your nerves won’t get in the way. It’s important to do your own research, but a typical hearing test will include the following things in most cases.
Your Medical History
One thing that will often be asked about is your medical history. Your hearing specialist needs to know the answers to their questions so they can determine whether your hearing loss or potential hearing loss is down to genetics, an illness, or something else. Make sure you answer as accurately as you can when you’re asked about your health and the health of your relatives.
Hearing Tests
The hearing tests themselves will consist of you listening to sounds and indicating when you can hear them. The sounds will be played at different volumes and frequencies, and your audiologist will be able to evaluate your hearing level is by recording your answers.
Recommendations
Once the hearing tests are complete, the hearing specialist will look through the results of the audiogram and make recommendations based on them. You’ll need to discuss your options and think about the treatment or solutions they suggest. Hearing aids are the most common treatment option, and they come in a range of styles and can be equipped with a variety of features to meet your specific preferences.
Don’t Forget to Take Notes
To ensure you get the most out of your hearing test and check-up, it’s a good idea to make some notes to take with you and add to during the test. To begin with, you can write down any hearing loss symptoms you might have noticed – it’s easy to forget when you’re in the middle of a hearing exam, but they could be important and they’ll help your audiologist come to the right diagnosis.
Write down any general questions you might have. We’re talking about your hearing health and your quality of life, so if there’s something you want know, no matter how trivial it might seem, it’s crucial you get the answers. Write down the questions so you don’t forget.
Avoid Exposure to Loud Noise
In the days leading up to your hearing check-up, try to avoid any exposure to loud noises if you can. Prolonged exposure to loud sounds can cause a temporary hearing loss problem, and if you have a hearing test while you’re experiencing this temporary issue, it could skew the results and get you the wrong diagnosis.
If you do have to go somewhere loud, wear ear protection if you can or rearrange your hearing check-up to a later date. At the very least, make your audiologist aware of the situation so they can account for it.
Take a Friend or Family Member
Taking a friend or family member along to your hearing check-up can be a great idea and give you the confidence and moral support you need. They can also help you remember any questions or concerns you have that maybe you forgot to write down or came up with during the appointment.
As well as being support, your friend or loved one can also be there when the hearing specialist gives you your results and recommendations. Even if you forget what was said, they’ll be able to help you remember the facts and make some good choices going forward.
Make Your Fall Appointment Today
Keeping your hearing health as positive as possible is vital, and if you haven’t had a hearing check-up recently, it could be time to make an appointment with an expert audiologist now. Contact Professional Hearing Solutions by calling (386) 265-4769 and talk to our team about booking your hearing test today.
