You’ll Be Surprised by the Result of Your Hearing Test

Do you know what you are missing? 

The truth is with hearing loss you don’t know. Once your brain stops registering specific sounds, you don’t even know they are there. 

If it’s spring, ever wonder why you don’t hear the robin outside your window? They haven’t gone away. It’s just you can’t hear them anymore, along with a host of other sounds. It’s worth getting your hearing checked to find out what you are missing. Then you can decide if you really want to be tuned in or tuned out.

Grandparents playing in the yard with their grandkids

Why get a hearing test?

The World Health Organization projects that by the year 2050, one in every ten people will have debilitating hearing loss that requires intervention. This is even worse as you get older: One in every 3 people over the age of 65 have hearing loss. 

Yet many people are unaware that they have hearing loss. That’s because hearing loss often progresses quite slowly, making any deterioration easy to miss until the damage is irreversible. Hearing tests help track your hearing over time and catch hearing loss early.

After all, hearing loss is a serious issue. If left untreated, it can lead to serious health issues, including cognitive decline. Why risk that when hearing tests are simple and painless? 

Hearing tests:

  • Catch hearing loss early
  • Determine which hearing loss solutions are best for you
  • Help you customize and program your hearing aids

Audiology & Hearing Center offers the latest technology in our state-of-the-art examination rooms.

The latest technology in our state-of-the-art examine rooms.
The audio room at our Tampa Palms location.

How do I know if my hearing is bad, and when should I get tested?

Have you tried this super simple hearing test?

Ask your spouse, your kids, and your friends if they think you should get your hearing tested. Chances are, you don’t even need to ask. They’ve probably been telling you for years to see a specialist and get your hearing tested. 

Yes, most of us are more stubborn than a mule and have put off acknowledging our hearing loss for years and years. But, whether you’re experiencing symptoms or not, hearing tests are proactive steps you can take to protect your hearing and detect problems early.

The general guidelines for such hearing tests are:

  • If you are under 50 and have no signs of hearing loss: You should generally have your hearing tested every 3 years.
  • 50 – 65: You should have your hearing tests at least once every two years. One in every four adults who report excellent hearing actually has some hearing loss, so it’s a good idea to get tested even if you aren’t noticing symptoms. 
  • 65 or older: At this age, more than 30 percent of people have hearing loss. You should get your hearing checked annually. 

Experts also recommend that you undergo at least one hearing test after reaching the age of 20 in order to establish a hearing baseline. 

The frequency of these hearing tests can and should change if you begin noticing that you’re having hearing problems.

7 telltale signs you need a hearing test

Consider getting a hearing test if you:

  1. Begin to withdraw from social settings. For example, if you avoid going out with friends or co-workers.
  2. Have significant fatigue or memory problems, even if you’re getting enough sleep.
  3. Notice that voices sound muffled or distant when talking to other people.
  4. Have trouble understanding conversations because it feels as though letters or sounds keep dropping out–especially consonants.
  5. Need to consistently turn up the volume on your radio, mobile phone, or television.
  6. Ask others to speak up or repeat themselves frequently.
  7. Can’t understand speech in a crowd or in noisy situations.

If you suspect you are experiencing the symptoms of hearing loss, it’s important to undergo a hearing test as quickly as possible. The sooner you undergo your hearing test, the faster you will be able to hear better.

Audiologist, Nancy Wong, working with a hearing loss patient.

How can I test my hearing?

Every day you wake up is a test, and every day your family or friends talk to you is a test too. And it’d be easy to think everything is fine or almost perfect based on what you are hearing. Of course, the big problem is that there is a good chance you’ve already forgotten what you are missing. That happens to the best of us. 

Which is why a professional hearing test is so important. You’ll discover what frequencies and types of sounds have gone missing and options for making them part of your life again, including hearing when your spouse or friend asks you to help with the dishes. 

It’s easy to get started. Schedule a hearing test with us to see if hearing aids will improve your ability to hear. 

Our hearing test will check your ability to hear different frequencies. Most people will lose the ability to hear very low or high frequency sounds before there is any noticeable deterioration of the ability to detect mid-frequency noises. 

All of this information is then displayed on an easy-to-read graph, called an audiogram. Effectively addressing your hearing loss depends on the ability to amplify the wavelengths you have difficulty hearing, making an audiogram an indispensable first step.

Types of hearing tests in Tampa Bay & Venice, FL

There are many ways to test your hearing, including:

Pure-tone audiometry

During this test, your hearing specialist will instruct you to listen to tones at different frequencies and volumes.

Speech and noise-in-words tests

These tests eschew the quiet room approach in order to determine how well your hearing functions in noisy situations. The idea behind this approach is to mimic how your hearing behaves in life, especially in noisy situations.

Tympanometry

By gently pushing air into your ear, this test measures how well your eardrum moves and is an important hearing test for your middle ear. The results will show us if your eardrum is too stiff, has fluid behind it, or has a hole in it.

Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) testing

When you hear sounds, sound waves vibrate in your inner ear creating “otoacoustic emissions” that echo back to your middle ear. An OAE test measures these emissions to see how well your cochlea is working. This type of test can also indicate whether your ear is blocked.