What to Ask Your Hearing Provider About Hearing Tests

If you have never had a hearing test before in your life, you might well be wondering what it will involve and what you should expect. In fact, some people might admit to even being a little apprehensive about having a hearing test, which is absolutely natural if you have not had to do one before. However, a hearing test is the best way to determine the extent of your hearing loss as well as its potential cause, so it’s an important thing to focus on.

To make the most of your hearing test, be sure to ask your hearing provider about the following things.

Will It Determine the Cause?

First of all, you might be curious as to whether a hearing test can determine the cause of your hearing loss. The short answer is yes – you can generally use a hearing test to help determine the cause of your hearing loss and this is something that you are certainly going to want to bear in mind. During the test, the hearing health professional will carry out a test to see whether there is an induction problem with the bones in your ear. This at least rules out a structural issue.

What Happens During a Hearing Test?

So, what actually takes place during a hearing test? Again, this is definitely something you will want to ask your hearing care professional, as they will be able to give you a comprehensive answer of what will take place during the hearing test – which can vary slightly from professional to professional. In general, however, you can expect a range of different tests to see how far the hearing loss has occurred and to try and figure out the cause.

Will I Need Hearing Aids?

It is impossible to tell at the early juncture before the test whether or not you will need hearing aids, but on the other hand there is a good chance that the test itself will reveal this very clearly very quickly. So, the best course of action is simply to get the hearing test done as soon as possible, so that you can start to get whatever treatment might be necessary in your case. If you do need hearing aids, you can be sure that your hearing health professional will be able to help you out with that.

How Long Will It Take?

How long does a hearing test take? Again, it always depends on what kind of tests you are having to undergo, but you will generally be in there for under an hour overall. The actual testing part might take around 20-40 minutes, depending on what needs to take place as the test progresses. You should set aside a good hour, however, especially if there is likely to be a need for a discussion afterwards about hearing aids and so on after the fact.