7 Ways to Prepare for a Hearing Test

Treating your hearing loss means a visit to the audiologist’s office. This can be intimidating if you’ve never been for a hearing test before. However, a little preparation before the visit will help ensure you get the most out of it and will make you feel more at ease.

Follow these seven simple tips and then sleep easy knowing you are set you up for success when it comes to having your hearing tested.

1. Visit an audiologist

Schedule a hearing test with an audiologist to start your path to hearing loss treatment. An audiologist that you trust is crucial when it comes to treating your hearing loss because you’ll rely on them to diagnose your condition, recommend the proper hearing aids and fit them to your personal needs.

2. Consider your hearing needs

An audiologist is a healthcare professional, but not a mind reader. Only you know what circumstances you most struggle to hear (such as in a concert hall or when holding a phone conversation).

Compile a list of situations when you’ve found it hard to hear, plus make a note of your hobbies and the activities you enjoy. This helps the audiologist flesh out the picture of what type of device you may need.

3. List any medications 

Your physical health and medications may impact your ability to hear. During the hearing test the audiologist draws up a detailed picture of your hearing, and from this can spot certain medical problems linked to impaired hearing. It will help the audiologist to know if you are aware of these conditions or not. 

Likewise, certain medications impact hearing health, and knowing which meds you take could affect the audiologist’s advice. 

4. Research hearing devices

This isn’t about doing the audiologist’s job for them, but understanding what the options are. When you do some basic research into the styles of hearing device and become familiar with their features, you can then better concentrate on the details of what the audiologist is recommending.

5. Study your finances 

Check your health insurance policy to see what provision is in place to cover the cost of a hearing device. It might be that you need a referral from your doctor for the audiologist, in order for the policy to be valid, so check this out.

Alternatively, if funding is an issue, there are avenues to explore from various charitable organizations or programs, which can assist towards the cost of a purchase.

6. Phone a friend

Two brains are better than one when it comes to recalling detail. Most audiologists actively encourage their patients to bring a friend along to the consultation, to absorb information that you may well forget in the heat of the moment.

7. Write down questions

Last but not least, write down a list of questions you want to ask. It is entirely normal to forget to ask a vital question, so prepare for this by having a list ready to go.