Hearing helps us better understand our environment and is critical for communication, too. When it comes to the health of our hearing, seeing a specialist regularly is important. Hearing care professionals, including hearing aid specialists and audiologists, can help you determine whether you are experiencing hearing loss, help you understand it, and give you some solutions for how to deal with it. Here are some compelling reasons to see a hearing specialist.
They Will Conduct A Thorough Checkup
Most people visit a hearing care professional when they discover that it is getting harder to hear, discern faint sounds, or hear certain frequencies. After the initial consultation, the specialist will conduct a thorough hearing test. This will help them determine your level of hearing loss, interpret the results for you, answer any questions you have and give you some recommendations.The results they get after the hearing test are especially important because they are what you will use to make decisions about the care and treatments you will receive.
If the hearing care professional decides that hearing aids are the best option for you, they will do what is known as a real-ear measurement (REM). This test helps them decide how loud the hearing aids should be so that the volume is appropriate for their level of hearing loss, and that it is also comfortable and safe.
The takeaway is that not all hearing loss is the same, and everyone is treated differently according to the results of their hearing tests. These tests can determine which part of the ear is causing the loss and whether you have asymmetric hearing loss where one ear hears much better than the other.
They Will Help You Understand Different Options
Most people who know about hearing loss treatments know about hearing aids. However, there are other treatment options like cochlear implants that help with hearing loss. A hearing care specialist will help you understand each option and go through their pros and cons with you. They will then talk with you to determine which option is better based on several factors including the extent of your hearing loss and lifestyle.
Since they are the more popular option, many people opt for hearing aids. These come in different styles and sizes and at various price points. If you opt for hearing aids, you can find a hearing aid specialist in your area to help you get the right one. They will also help with your hearing loss and conduct different tests to check your hearing before giving you the hearing aids.
They Will Help You Adjust to Your Hearing Aids
Hearing aids require an adjustment period and have to be adjusted from time to time. The adjustment period helps you learn how to be comfortable wearing them as well as hearing yourself and other people speak.
It can feel weird hearing yourself speak, with many people who get hearing aids for the first time saying they hear an echo when they talk. This goes away after some time, hence the adjustment period.
Hearing aids require an adjustment for several reasons. For many people, hearing loss is a gradual process. As it progresses, it becomes harder to hear and if you wear hearing aids, their volume will need to be adjusted accordingly. Many people find the volume too loud, comparable to sitting in a dark room for a long time and then having a bright light turned on suddenly.The hearing aid specialist will work with you to gradually bring the volume up or down depending on your comfort levels. They will also adjust the sound quality to ensure you hear as clearly as possible.
Questions are likely to come up during this adjustment period and are expected. Your hearing aid specialist will be on hand to answer them while also assisting you in other ways.
They Will Help You with New Technology
Hearing aid technology is always evolving. For example, custom earmolds have helped create the best sizing and fit options for those with hearing loss. This has helped with better retention of hearing aids.More importantly, technology helps hearing aids connect to different devices. For example, hearing aids can now connect to smartphones and other assistive technologies. If you are having issues integrating these technologies, you can talk to your hearing care specialist, and they will help while also answering any questions you may have.
Tinnitus Support
Tinnitus, also known as ear ringing, presents with a ringing, whooshing, or buzzing sound in the ears. It can be steady or intermittent and can present at different perceived volumes. Tinnitus is very common in those with hearing loss, and it can have a detrimental effect on their quality of life.
Properly fitted hearing aids for those with hearing loss and tinnitus can help with the problem. Modern hearing aids are equipped with features that help mask tinnitus. Your hearing care specialist can also tune specific frequencies to help you tune it out. These are the frequencies often associated with the perception of tinnitus.
Another option that is becoming common is hearing aids that retrain the brain to focus on specific frequencies and sounds. By doing so, the brain can stop focusing on the tinnitus, so it becomes less perceivable over time.
They Will Help You Care for Your Hearing Aids
As with other devices, hearing aids work best when they are taken care of and maintained properly. In addition to seeing how you are doing, in-person appointments provide an opportunity for your hearing care specialist to have a look at your hearing aids. They will clean the device and provide recommendations depending on what they see. For example, they will advise you on what to do if the batteries are corroded or if the microphones need to be replaced.They will also ask you about adjusting the volume and frequencies to help you keep hearing your best.
Visiting a hearing care specialist is not only about getting tests and checks; it is also important for those with hearing aids. They will help you adjust to them, show you how to get the most out of them, and ensure you take care of them so that they remain functional and last a long time.
