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Your
Hearing Evaluation |
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| The process of choosing a hearing aid usually begins with
medical and hearing examinations. The medical exam may be done by
your family doctor or you may be referred to an otolaryngologist
(a doctor who is an ear, nose, and throat specialist). Your hearing will be carefully tested by an audiologist (a health professional who specializes in evaluation and
nonmedical treatment of hearing loss). The test results, called an
audiogram, will show
whether your ears are healthy, what type of hearing loss you have,
and exactly what you can and cannot hear.
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Your Medical Exam
A hearing loss can mean you have a medical problem. An
examination of your ears, nose, and throat is needed to rule out
any infection, injury, or other problem. Certain
ear conditions can be treated or corrected with medicines
or surgery. Then there might be no need for a hearing aid.
Your doctor will take your medical history, asking you questions
about your health and hearing as well as your family's medical
history.
Your Hearing Test
The audiologist may use several tests to find which tones,
sounds, and words you can and cannot hear. These tests are usually
given in a soundproof room using electronic equipment. The tests
are not painful or difficult to do. You are asked to signal when
you hear tones and sounds that come through the earphones. Other
tests will show if you can tell the difference between words that
sound much alike, such as fin, pin, tin, and thin. The
tests show which sounds or tones your hearing aid will need to
amplify for you.
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What the Audiogram Shows
The audiogram is a graph showing the results of your hearing
test. Low pitch or frequencies (tones) are shown on the left and
high frequencies on the
right. Soft sounds are at the top of the graph and loud sounds at
the bottom. The loudness where you first hear a tone is marked ( • ) and these points are connected to form a line. Normal
hearing levels start between 0 and 20 decibels. Normal tones fall
within the dotted outline area.
(
Chart
adapted from J. Northern and M. Downs, Hearing in Children,
2nd Ed. @Williams &Wilkins, 1991, and courtesy of Mary
Ann KinsellaMeier and Florence Vold, Gallaudet University,
1985 ).
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Audiogram of a person with a hearing loss that is
worse in the higher frequencies: This person heard none of the
sounds in the green area above the line.
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Other Possible Tests
Other
tests may be done, depending on the nature of your hearing loss or
the results of your audiogram. Such tests may be used to measure
how well the eardrum is working, to check for fluid in the middle
ear, or to diagnose other conditions not revealed by the usual
tests.
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This
information is not intended as a substitute for professional health
care. (c)1995, 1998 The StayWell Company, 1100 Grundy Lane, San Bruno, CA
94066-3030. (800) 333-3032. All rights reserved. Lithographed in Canada.
Krames Communications. Consultants: Philip Bartlett, MD
Lawrence M. Eng, MS, CCC-A Contributions By Robert Harris, MD
Alison Grimes, MA CCC-A |
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