If you are having trouble hearing what others are saying and are always having to ask them to repeat themselves it can be very frustrating and embarrassing. Sometimes you may find that others, especially family, even get upset and accuse you of not listening to them. It is probably time for you to get your ears checked and your first step should be a visit to an ear, nose and throat doctor to make sure that you are not dealing with some kind of infection, or wax build-up. If that turns out not to be the case, the next visit should be to a reputable audiologist.
Appointment Day
There is really nothing about seeing an audiologist for a hearing aid exam that should make you nervous. It is a simple exam and there are no uncomfortable procedures that you will be required to go through.
When you see the audiologist, he or she will do a cursory exam of your ears and ask you a lot of questions about exactly what problems you are experiencing. You will, of course, be required to fill out the inevitable paper work that is a must at any kind of doctors office.
Hearing Aid Exam
When the audiologist is ready to conduct the actual hearing aid exam, you will be taken back to a special room with equipment for testing your hearing. The audiologist will explain the procedure fully so that you will know exactly what you are expected to do.
A set of earbuds or headphones will be placed in your ears and the audiologist will sometimes go in a different room so that you cannot see what he or she is doing. The exam will consist of a series of beeps that are on different wave lengths and one ear at a time will be tested. When you hear the beep, you will raise your hand to indicate to the audiologist that you have heard. He or she will mark down you responses.
Once the test is over, your responses will be reviewed and the results will tell the audiologist what percentage of hearing loss, if any, you have in each ear. From these results, it will be determined if you need hearing aids in one or both ears. If you do need hearing aids, your audiologist will explain everything and help you determine the kind of hearing aids you want.
There is no need to worry about embarrassment concerning the aids being visible to others, because they are so small and easily worn over your ears that they most likely will not be noticed at all. When you wear your hearing aids you will be amazed at all of the things you hear that you may never have heard before.
The exam itself will probably take about 45 minutes to an hour and you should be comfortable the entire time, as there is no pain or discomfort.
