There seems to be more confusion when it comes to hearing care than with most other medical specializations. We don’t have to ask, for instance, what a dentist or eye doctor can do for us. But when it comes to our hearing, we’re oftentimes unsure as to what we should do or who we should visit.
So what exactly can a local hearing care professional do for you? Several things, in fact—things that could turn out making your life better and easier.
Here are 6 services you should be familiar with.
1. Examination of hearing and balance
Hearing specialists are specifically 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 professional.
By carrying out professional audiological assessments, hearing specialists can adeptly establish the cause of your hearing loss or balance problems. And if your hearing loss is brought on by an underlying medical issue, hearing specialists can make the relevant referrals.
Also, If you have long-term ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus, some hearing specialists can furnish targeted therapies.
2. Earwax removal
In some instances, what is believed to be hearing loss is simply excessive earwax buildup. 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, including cotton swabs, into your ear canal at home. There are several other appropriate ways you can clean your ears, such as with homemade solutions or ideally by booking 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 error. If you’re working in a loud industry (for instance as a musician) or take part in loud activities (like hunting), you should pick up custom made ear protection to prevent future hearing loss.
You could just purchase some foam earplugs at the convenience store, but they’re in general uncomfortable and generate an irritating muffled sound. Custom earplugs fit comfortably in your ear and preserve the sounds you desire to hear while protecting against the sounds that lead to damage.
4. Professional hearing tests (audiometry)
Hearing loss is invisible, painless, and at times difficult to acknowledge or accept. The only way to attain an accurate diagnosis is through a professional hearing evaluation known as audiometry.
Utilizing sophisticated equipment and techniques, the hearing specialist can accurately diagnose hearing loss. Immediately after performing the test, the results are printed on a graph referred to as an audiogram. Just like a fingerprint, everyone’s hearing loss is slightly different, which will be visually represented on the audiogram.
If you can reap benefits from hearing aids, the audiogram will function as the blueprint to programming and personalizing the technology.
5. Hearing aid selection and fitting
Hearing aids come in several styles, from numerous producers, equipped with numerous features. Considering that everyone’s hearing loss and preferences are a little different, this variety is required—but it does make things a little overwhelming when you need to make a decision.
That’s where hearing professionals can really help. They’ll assist you to find the hearing aid that suits your hearing loss while ensuring that you don’t throw away money on functions you simply don’t care about or need.
Right after you discover 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 optimizes your hearing based on the sounds you primarily have trouble hearing.
6. A lifetime of healthy hearing
The health of your hearing should always be sustained as vigorously as any other component of your health. We have family physicians, dentists, and optometrists that help maintain several aspects of our health on a continuing basis.
In the same way, we should have a dedicated professional looking out for the health of our hearing. Your relationship with your hearing specialist shouldn’t end following your hearing test; it should be ongoing. Hearing specialists provide a variety of helpful 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 inevitably change over time, your hearing specialist should not. If you commit to finding a local professional who cares about helping people over all else, you’ll enjoy the advantages of healthy hearing for life.