The Role of Hearing Health Professionals in Your Journey

Whether you’re experiencing mild or severe hearing loss, seeking professional help is the best thing you can do. An audiologist is a professional with a complete understanding of a wide range of hearing disorders and guiding you to find the right solutions for your personal preference. So, what role does an audiologist have in hearing loss?

Diagnosing Your Hearing Loss

When you first meet your audiologist, they’ll conduct a hearing evaluation to understand everything from the severity of your hearing loss to the type of hearing loss that you’re experiencing. Your diagnosis will involve a series of hearing tests, which will typically include checks for hearing sensitivity at different frequencies, bone construction studies and speech audiometry amongst others. These tests will help your audiologist understand whether there’s an underlying medical reason for the cause of your hearing loss. With the results of your hearing test your audiologist can find the treatment plan for you whether that be hearing aids or other assistive listening devices.

Helping you Find the Right Hearing Aid

Once they understand the severity and type of hearing loss that you’re experiencing, your audiologist will find and fit the right hearing aid based on things including your lifestyle, your ear size and your preferences. Hearing aid options include in the ear (ITE), behind the ear (BTE) and in the canal (ITC). Your audiologist will recommend the best hearing aids for your type of hearing loss and will then digitally program your chosen device according to your test results. During multiple fitting appointments, your audiologist will adjust your device to ensure your comfort and your hearing abilities.

Helping you Adapt to Life with Hearing Aids

An audiologist can help you adapt to life with hearing aids in many ways. They will start by making sure your hearing aids fit comfortably and are properly adjusted to your specific hearing needs. They can teach you how to use and care for your hearing aids, including how to clean them and change the batteries. An audiologist can also provide tips for adjusting to new sounds and improving your listening skills in different environments. There are also features for your hearing aids like Bluetooth connectivity and noise reduction to aid in adapting to your hearing loss. Noise reduction can help in environments where the background noise is too loud.

Offering Ongoing Support

An audiologist can offer ongoing support to help you maintain the best possible hearing experience. They can regularly check your hearing and adjust your hearing aids as needed to match any changes in your hearing. If you have any issues with your hearing aids, like discomfort or problems with sound quality, an audiologist can troubleshoot and fix these problems. They can also provide tips and advice on how to get the most out of your hearing aids in different situations, like noisy environments.

If you want to learn more about hearing loss or want to learn more about treatment options if you are experiencing hearing loss, contact an audiologist today. They will be able to provide the best support.