When people lose their hearing, they don’t often realize what they’ve lost until it’s too late. Consider not being able to listen to your favorite songs, or fully enjoy a holiday gathering with your family, or even hear the nature outside when you wake up in the morning.
Everyone can benefit from healthy and functional hearing, meaning it’s extremely important to protect it while you have it— and take the right steps if you start to have trouble hearing. With a personalized hearing assessment with our H.E.A.R. Method™ Treatment Program, we can begin the right treatment plan for you and your lifestyle so you can continue to enjoy your favorite sounds and live your best life for years to come.
What is an Adult Hearing Assessment?
An adult hearing assessment is a process of determining whether you have any hearing impairment and to what degree. There are many different types and causes of hearing loss, including exposure to loud sounds, so a hearing assessment helps us establish the right care plan for you using tools like hearing aids and other hearing devices. Hearing tests are perfectly painless and require only that you listen to your best ability. Your Doctor of Audiology will guide you through each step and assess your results with you so that you understand the next steps in your treatment plan at our Livingston office.
What Happens During an Adult Hearing Assessment?
Your personalized hearing assessment begins with an in-depth discussion with our audiology team as part of our proprietary H.E.A.R. Method™ Treatment Program of comprehensive hearing solutions. This helps us establish your health history and any factors that might contribute to hearing loss, like your family history, medications, lifestyle, and any injuries or conditions.
Many people associate hearing loss with old age, but there are many other causes that virtually anyone can experience. Once we have a complete picture of your health, we’ll perform an examination of your ears and look for any impactions, obstructions, or damage that might be causing hearing loss. Finally, we’ll perform a hearing test to evaluate your hearing at different frequencies and during the conversation, as well as how your ear reacts to different degrees of pressure.
Once we have a complete picture of your hearing function and whether you have mild or severe hearing loss, we’ll review the results with an audiogram, or a graph created during your pure-tone hearing test. This helps us see where your hearing isn’t working as it should, and we can use this to begin looking at the best hearing aid options for you—as well as making the right lifestyle adjustments to keep your hearing healthy for the long term. Our goal is to ensure you’re healthy and achieve as close to your normal hearing ability as possible.
At our Livingston office, we can perform a QuickSIN™ test to help determine the right hearing aid type for you. This involves allowing you to hear through a variety of hearing aids to find the best fit, level of correction, and comfort for our selection of hearing aid options. Finally, we’ll take your next steps in your hearing aid treatment so you can enjoy your best hearing health.
Why is a Hearing Assessment Important?
Getting your hearing tested is just as important as your regular appointments with your dentist or ophthalmologist. That’s because personalized hearing assessments come with a lot of benefits. This includes:
- Diagnosing certain medical concerns
- Maintaining your brain’s cognitive function
- Reducing the risk of cognitive decline and dementia
- Tracking changes in your hearing ability
- Preventing further hearing damage or loss
Unfortunately, most people don’t take the steps they should when it comes to getting help for hearing loss. They may even continue putting it off until their degree of hearing loss becomes much worse. For this reason, the sooner you see your Doctor of Audiology for a hearing assessment, the sooner you can act to preserve your hearing ability and take the right steps for your health.
Schedule an Appointment
The best step you can take for your hearing health is meeting with our expert audiology team for a personalized hearing assessment. To get started, we invite you to contact our Livingston office by calling or filling out our online form.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are online hearing tests accurate?
Online hearing tests are not the most accurate tests available. While online hearing tests are helpful in determining whether you may have difficulty hearing, the only completely accurate hearing test is one completed in a soundproof booth.
At what age should hearing screening take place in older adults?
According to the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA), you should have your hearing checked at least once every 10 years up to the age of 50. Then, you should have your hearing checked every 3 years. As you get older, you are more likely to develop hearing loss.
Can earwax affect hearing test?
Earwax can cause a significant degree of hearing loss when impacted in an ear canal. In order to perform a hearing test, earwax should be removed prior to the examination in order to obtain accurate results.
Can you prove if you have tinnitus?
Yes, tinnitus can be proven and quantified. Tinnitus can be proven through a comprehensive tinnitus evaluation and pitch matching test.
How can I get a free hearing test?
Hearing tests are often covered by insurance with little to no out of pocket cost.
How can I improve hearing loss naturally?
There are no natural remedies to change or improve your hearing.
How can I make my hearing better?
While there is no way to change your hearing, there are a couple of things to help protect your hearing:n1) Use hearing protection when in situations where the sound is above 85 dBn2) Take vitamins that promote healthy ear functionn3) Avoid tobacco smoke
How can I restore my hearing naturally?
No, there are no natural remedies or pills you can take to change or improve your hearing.
What are different types of hearing tests?
A comprehensive hearing test or evaluation is a non-invasive test that is performed by an Audiologist. In addition to this test, your audiologist may recommend further testing to gauge the health of your middle ear and inner ear function.
What are the different types of hearing tests?
A comprehensive hearing test or evaluation is a non-invasive test that is performed by an Audiologist. In addition to this test, your audiologist may recommend further testing to gauge the health of your middle ear and inner ear function.
What are three warning signs of hearing loss?
Three warning signs of hearing loss include:n1) Difficulty understanding words, especially against background noise or in a crowd.n2) Frequently asking others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly.n3) Needing to turn up the volume of the television or radio.
What can an audiologist diagnose?
Audiologists are experts who can help to prevent, diagnose, and treat hearing and balance disorders for individuals of all ages.
What is a normal hearing test result?
Adults are classified as having normal hearing ability if their responses indicate they heard noises between 0 and 25 dB across the frequency range of 250-8000 Hz. A child is considered to have hearing ability within normal limits if their responses are between 0 to 15 dB across the frequency range of 250-8000 Hz.
What is considered mild hearing loss?
Mild hearing loss is defined by being unable to hear sounds that are quieter than about 25 decibels (dB) for adults and 15 decibels for children.
What is considered normal hearing?
Adults are classified as having normal hearing ability if their responses indicate they heard noises between 0 and 25 dB across the frequency range of 250-8000 Hz. A child is considered to have hearing ability within normal limits if their responses are between 0 to 15 dB across the frequency range of 250-8000 Hz.
What is hearing test for adults?
A comprehensive hearing test or evaluation is a non-invasive test that is performed by an Audiologist. In addition to this test, your audiologist may recommend further testing to gauge the health of your middle ear and inner ear function.
What should you do before a hearing test?
Before a hearing test it is important that your ears are free of wax.
What tests can be used to diagnose hearing loss?
The following tests can be used to diagnose hearing loss:n1) Pure Tone Testing. n2) Bone Conduction Testingn3) Speech Testingn4) Tympanometryn5) Acoustic Reflex Testingn6) Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) n7) Otoacoustic Emissions (OAEs)
When should I see a doctor about hearing loss?
If you think you have hearing loss, you should consult an audiologist for a comprehensive hearing test. You should consult an ear, nose throat specialist (ENT or Otolaryngologist) if you are experiencing any of the following: History of pain, active drainage, or bleeding from an ear. Sudden onset or rapidly progressive hearing loss.
Where can I get my hearing checked?
If you want to get your hearing checked, you should make an appointment with an Audiologist.nnYou can also ask friends who wear hearing aids to recommend an Audiologist, or check the Hearing Loss Associations searchable database at www.hearingloss.org. Look for one who is licensed and certified and who works with different brands of hearing aids, rather than just one.
Do you need a referral to get a hearing test?
Most insurance do not require a referral for hearing evaluation. If you have Medicare, you must have a referral. However, we always encourage you to speak to your primary care doctor regarding any concerns about your health.
Does hearing loss feel like clogged ears?
If you have clogged ears, the best solution is to get them cleaned by a doctor or a healthcare professional. But if your ears continue to feel stuffed after they have been cleaned, you could have the first signs of hearing loss.
Does hearing loss make you talk louder?
Yes, hearing loss can make you talk louder. Untreated hearing loss can influence the perceived volume at which you speak. With untreated hearing loss, even someones own voice sounds soft, and as they speak louder to compensate for it, the “inside voice” becomes the “outside voice.”
How can I check my hearing at home?
There are many online hearing tests and apps available at home to test your hearing. However, the only completely accurate hearing test is one completed by an Audiologist in a soundproof booth.
How do I know if my hearing is bad?
Three signs that your hearing is bad are:n1) Difficulty understanding words, especially when in background noise or in a crowd.n2) Frequently asking others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly.n3) Needing to turn up the volume of the television or radio.
How do you assess hearing?
A comprehensive hearing test or evaluation is a non-invasive test that is performed by an Audiologist. In addition to this test, your audiologist may recommend further testing to gauge the health of your middle ear and inner ear function.
How often should audiological evaluations for hearing impaired older adults take place?
While there are no formal guidelines from American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) for how often you should have a hearing test once you have been diagnosed with hearing loss, it is often best practice to have a comprehensive hearing test once a year. An annual hearing test is helpful when wearing hearing aids so that your device can be calibrated based on a recent measure of your hearing.
How often should hearing tests be done?
According to the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) you should have your hearing checked at least once every 10 years up to the age of 50. Then, you should have your hearing checked every 3 years. As you get older, you are more likely to develop hearing loss.
What can I expect at an audiology appointment?
At Hearing Doctors of New Jersey, your appointment with one of our Doctors of Audiology will include three main tests: n1) Otoscopyn2) Tympanometry n3) Comprehensive hearing test
What do audiologists use to test hearing?
At Hearing Doctors of New Jersey, your appointment with one of our Doctors of Audiology will include three main tests: n1) Otoscopyn2) Tympanometry n3) Comprehensive hearing test
What does a hearing screening include?
A hearing screening is a “pass” or “fail” test. Its purpose is to determine if you have normal hearing or not. It usually consists of a series of beeps or tones at the limit of normal range to see if you are able to hear them.
What is a good hearing range?
Adults are classified as having normal hearing ability if their responses indicate they heard noises between 0 and 25 dB across the frequency range of 250-8000 Hz. A child is considered to have hearing ability within normal limits if their responses are between 0 to 15 dB across the frequency range of 250-8000 Hz.
What is the first sign of hearing loss?
There are several first signs of hearing loss: n1) Difficulty understanding words, especially against background noise or in a crowd.n2) Frequently asking others to speak more slowly, clearly and loudly.n3) Needing to turn up the volume of the television or radio.
What is the most frequently used hearing assessment?
The most frequently used hearing assessment is a behavioral pure tone hearing test. Sounds are projected at different tones, intensities, and frequencies. The patient then indicates which sounds they are able to hear.
What procedures and instruments are used to test hearing?
At Hearing Doctors of New Jersey, your appointment with one of our Doctors of Audiology will include the following procedures: n1) Otoscopyn2) Tympanometry n3) Comprehensive hearing test
What should a hearing assessment include?
At Hearing Doctors of New Jersey, your comprehensive hearing assessment with one of our Doctors of Audiology will include three main tests: n1) Otoscopyn2) Tympanometry n3) Comprehensive hearing test
Who can perform a hearing screening?
You should ask your doctor for a hearing screening if you have concerns about your or your childs hearing. An audiologist can give you a more complete hearing test if you fail the screening. This is called a comprehensive hearing evaluation, and you should have it done as soon as possible after the screening.
How Long Does A Hearing Test Take?
Hearing assessments can take as little as 30 minutes, but our Doctors of Audiology will ensure you have thorough and accurate results. We’ll also go over your treatment plan based on your audiogram so you understand your next steps and ways to optimize your hearing.
How frequently do I need to see someone when I get hearing aids to make sure they are working properly?
In our office, we believe that having an appointment every four months is the best maintenance plan. By coming in every 4 months, we can ensure that your hearing aids are working and fitting properly, that you don’t have a buildup of ear wax, and address any issues or concerns you may have.
If I wait, will my hearing get worse?
Your hearing will change over time, and it is recommended that you test your hearing at least once a year to determine any discernable changes. Studies show that there is a direct link between untreated hearing loss and cognitive decline as well as Alzheimer’s. That is why it is essential that you start addressing your hearing loss as soon as you notice a change in your hearing.
Will I be embarrassed if I get a hearing aid?
If you’re struggling to hear, people notice. When you do not hear what someone is saying, they may become frustrated by your complaints of asking to speak up or having to repeat what they said in order for you to hear them. What is important to remember is that changes in your hearing are normal. Hearing aids are always less noticeable, then constantly saying “what” during a conversation.
Can a little bit of hearing loss lead to more issues?
Studies have found that even a little bit of hearing loss can lead to issues like dementia and Alzheimer’s. Do not wait to address your hearing. If you suspect you have hearing loss, see an audiologist now.
