There seems to be more misunderstanding when it relates to hearing care than with most other medical specializations. We don’t need to ask, for example, what a dentist or eye doctor can do for us. But when it comes to our hearing, we’re typically uncertain as to what we should do or who we should visit.
So what exactly can a local hearing care professional do for you? Many things, in fact—things that could end up making your life better and more convenient.
Here are 6 services you should know about.
1. Examination of hearing and balance
Hearing professionals are specially trained in assessing hearing and balance. If you think you have hearing loss, balance issues, or experience ringing in the ears, the local hearing professional is the go-to expert.
By conducting professional audiological evaluations, hearing specialists can expertly establish the cause of your hearing loss or balance problems. And if your hearing loss is induced by an underlying medical issue, hearing specialists can prepare the appropriate referrals.
Also, If you have persistent ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus, some hearing specialists can supply focused therapies.
2. Earwax removal
In certain cases, what is thought to be hearing loss is nothing more than too much earwax accumulation. While it’s not the most glamorous facet of the job, hearing specialists are skilled in professional ear cleaning. If this is the reason for your hearing loss, you could begin hearing better within a few minutes.
And remember, it’s never safe to insert anything, most notably cotton swabs, into your ear canal at home. There are other proper ways you can clean your ears, such as with homemade solutions or ideally by arranging an appointment the hearing specialist.
3. Custom hearing protection
A great number of individuals make the mistake of first visiting the hearing specialist after they develop hearing loss. Don’t commit the same mistake. If you’re working in a noisy career (for example as a musician) or participate in loud activities (like hunting), you should get yourself custom ear protection to prevent future hearing loss.
You could just pick up some foam earplugs at the convenience store, but they’re almost always uncomfortable and produce an aggravating muffled sound. Custom earplugs fit comfortably in your ear and maintain the sounds you want to hear while protecting against the sounds that bring about damage.
4. Expert hearing tests (audiometry)
Hearing loss is imperceptible, painless, and at times challenging to recognize or accept. The only method to attain an accurate diagnosis is through a professional hearing assessment known as audiometry.
Using leading-edge equipment and practices, the hearing specialist can accurately diagnose hearing loss. Immediately after carrying out the testing, the final results are printed on a chart called an audiogram. Like a fingerprint, everyone’s hearing loss is slightly different, which will be visually depicted on the audiogram.
If you can reap benefits from hearing aids, the audiogram will function as the blueprint to programming and customizing the technology.
5. Hearing aid selection and adjustment
Hearing aids come in several styles, from a number of manufacturers, equipped with countless capabilities. Since everyone’s hearing loss and preferences are different, this wide variety is necessary—but it does make things a little overwhelming when you need to make a choice.
That’s where hearing specialists can really help. They’ll help you find the hearing aid that corresponds to your hearing loss while ensuring that you don’t waste cash on functions you simply don’t care about or require.
Right after you discover the ideal hearing aid, your hearing specialist will make use of your audiogram as the blueprint for customization. That way, you’ll be certain that your hearing aid optimizes your hearing according to the sounds you primarily have trouble hearing.
6. A lifetime of healthy hearing
The health of your hearing should be sustained as intensely as any other aspect of your health. We have family physicians, dentists, and optometrists that help safeguard several aspects of our health on a continuing 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 end after your hearing test; it should be on-going. Hearing specialists provide a variety of useful life-long services, including hearing aid cleaning, maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair, together with advice and guidance on the latest technology.
So even though your hearing will undoubtedly change over time, your hearing specialist should not. If you commit to locating a local professional who cares about helping people above everything else, you’ll enjoy the advantages of healthy hearing for life.
