There seems to be more confusion when it involves hearing care than with many other medical specialties. We don’t need to ask, for instance, what a dentist or eye doctor can do for us. But when it comes to our hearing, we’re commonly uncertain as to what action we should take or who we should see.
So what exactly can a local hearing care professional do for you? Many things, in fact—things that could result in making your life better and easier.
Here are 6 services you should be aware of.
1. Examination of hearing and balance
Hearing professionals are specially trained in evaluating hearing and balance. If you suspect hearing loss, balance issues, or experience ringing or buzzing in the ears, the local hearing professional is the go-to expert.
By performing professional audiological assessments, hearing specialists can adeptly diagnose the cause of your hearing loss or balance problems. And if your hearing loss is triggered by an underlying medical ailment, hearing specialists can make the relevant referrals.
Additionally, If you have consistent ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus, some hearing specialists can supply targeted therapies.
2. Earwax extraction
In some cases, what is assumed to be hearing loss is simply excessive earwax accumulation. While it’s not the most extravagant facet of the job, hearing specialists are trained in professional ear cleaning. If this is the source of your hearing loss, you could begin hearing better within a matter of minutes.
And always remember, it’s never safe to insert anything, most notably cotton swabs, into your ear canal at home. There are several other proper ways to clean your ears, such as with homemade solutions or ideally by scheduling an appointment the hearing specialist.
3. Customized hearing protection
Many people make the error of first visiting the hearing specialist after they acquire hearing loss. Don’t make the same error. If you’re working in a loud industry (for instance as a musician) or take part in loud activities (such as hunting), you should get yourself custom made ear protection to prevent future hearing loss.
You could just purchase some foam earplugs at the convenience store, but they’re in most cases uncomfortable and create an bothersome muffled sound. Custom earplugs fit comfortably in your ear and preserve the sounds you desire to hear while protecting against the sounds that bring about damage.
4. Professional hearing tests (audiometry)
Hearing loss is imperceptible, painless, and oftentimes hard to recognize or accept. The only method to attain an accurate diagnosis is through a professional hearing evaluation referred to as audiometry.
Using sophisticated equipment and practices, the hearing specialist can precisely diagnose hearing loss. After performing the test, the results are printed on a graph called an audiogram. Just like a fingerprint, everyone’s hearing loss is a little different, which will be visually represented on the audiogram.
If you can benefit from hearing aids, the audiogram will serve as the blueprint to programming and personalizing the technology.
5. Hearing aid selection and fitting
Hearing aids come in many styles, from multiple manufacturers, equipped with numerous features. Since everyone’s hearing loss and preferences are different, this variety is required—but it does make things slightly overwhelming when you need to make a choice.
That’s where hearing professionals can help. They’ll assist you to find the hearing aid that suits your hearing loss while making sure that you don’t waste cash on functions you simply don’t care about or need.
As soon as you come across the ideal hearing aid, your hearing specialist will use your audiogram as the blueprint for personalization. That way, you’ll be certain that your hearing aid maximizes your hearing based on the sounds you specifically have trouble hearing.
6. A lifetime of healthy hearing
The health of your hearing should be preserved as intensely as any other aspect of your health. We have primary care physicians, dentists, and optometrists that help maintain various aspects of our health on a continuous basis.
In the same way, we should have a specific professional watching out for the health of our hearing. Your relationship with your hearing specialist shouldn’t conclude following your hearing test; it should be on-going. Hearing specialists provide a range of beneficial life-long services, including hearing aid cleaning, maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair, along with advice and guidance on the latest technology.
So even though your hearing will inevitably change over time, your hearing specialist should not. If you agree to locating a local professional who cares about helping people over all else, you’ll enjoy the advantages of healthy hearing for life.