It’s natural to feel a little nervous about something new. If you’ve never had a hearing test before, you may be wondering what’s involved and what the test results might show.
We do our best to put you at ease when you come to Active Audiology. Our friendly audiologists are with you each step of the way as you take the hearing test and decide what to do next.
How can I prepare for my hearing test?
Preparation helps you get the most out of your hearing test. Before you attend your appointment at Active Audiology, we recommend that you:
- Write down any key things in your medical history that could have affected your hearing, like repeated ear infections, meningitis, chickenpox for example.
- Think about how your lifestyle may have affected your hearing over the years. Did you attend lots of loud music concerts or work in a noisy environment?
- Make sure you’re well because:
- We want to be COVID-safe!
- A cold, sinus infection, allergy or ear infection can cause fluid in your ears that can compromise the results of your hearing test. It’s better to reschedule for another time.
What happens in a hearing test?
When you arrive at our clinic, you’ll be welcomed by our receptionist and introduced to your audiologist who will take you into our testing rooms.
You’re in good hands, here. Audiologists are highly trained health professionals who hold a Master’s degree. We’ve spent 5 years at university studying hearing and another year completing a clinical internship.
We’re a friendly bunch too so your 60-minute appointment will actually start with a chat about you. We’ll ask what’s made you decide to have a hearing test and talk about any difficulties you may have noticed with your hearing. We’ll also ask about your overall health as some medical conditions and medications can affect your hearing.
Then we move to the testing part, which usually takes place in a sound-controlled space. It looks a little different to most rooms since it’s usually dark with grey cladding on the walls.
There are four components to a hearing test:
- An examination of your ear – we look inside to check for any blockages, malformations or signs of injury
- A sound test – we play some beeps and you press a button when you hear each one
- A speech test – we play some words and you repeat them
- A pressure test – we check for fluid and pressure in your middle ear.
What happens after my hearing test?
Now the testing part is over, we assess your results and discuss our findings with you.
If your test is normal, we’ll talk about how to protect your hearing and manage any issues like earwax buildup. Then we’ll call you back in 12 months to offer you a repeat test.
If your test results show that you have hearing loss, then we’ll explain our findings and what they mean for you.
Active Audiology is an independent hearing clinic. You can be sure that you’re receiving unbiased advice because we don’t work on commission from any hearing aid companies.
Instead, we recommend the solutions we think will most help you. That could include aural strategies, where you learn ways of communicating that compensate for hearing difficulties. Or it might include a hearing aid fitting, where you can benefit from the best of modern hearing technology to improve your hearing in a range of situations.
Book a hearing test at Active Audiology
Active Audiology has clinics across Melbourne at Thornbury, South Morang, Balwyn, Blackburn North, Altona, Burwood East and Oakleigh.
Your hearing is a vital part of easy communication so it’s important to have regular hearing tests to detect and manage any issues as soon as possible.
If you have any concerns about your hearing, please book a hearing test.
Disclaimer
All information is general in nature.
