2017 is finally upon us. Actually is has been here for a few weeks now, but I bet you are still writing 16 on any important documents. The new year is a time for reflection, looking at your life and determining where you can make improvements. If you are one of the nearly 48 million Americans in American Fork and throughout America with hearing loss, this is the time to finally do something about it.
Most individuals with hearing loss will wait an average of seven years before seeking help. This is usually due to the fact that they don’t want to admit they actually have a problem and they think using a hearing aid will make them feel (and look) old.
Admitting you have a problem is the first step on your road to recovery, and the hearing aids you think make you look old are not being produced anymore. The hearing aids of your parents or grandparents’ generation are nothing like the sleek models of today. Modern devices contain features like Bluetooth® compatibility for added versatility and ease of use. Your American Fork audiologist will help you determine the correct device for your type and degree of hearing loss.
Before your audiologist can make a determination, you will need to complete a screening visit. This involves a series of tests in order to confirm your degree of hearing loss. The two most important tests are pure-tone and speech testing.
Pure-tone testing is able to determine the faintest tones you can hear at a variety of pitches. The test requires you to sit in a specially designed sound booth while you wear a pair of headphones. A variety of tones will be played through the headphones. Every time you hear a sound you will be asked to raise your hand or press a button. The results of this test will be recorded on an audiogram, which is a visual representation of how well you can hear.
Speech testing is used to determine how well you understand speech. The tester will read a list of words aloud. You will then be asked to either indicate if you heard each word or recite the list of words back to the tester. Your speech reception threshold (SRT) and speech detection threshold (SDT) will be measured. These results are also recorded on an audiogram.
Once your type and degree of hearing loss is determined, your American Folk audiologist will be able to help you decide on the right treatment. For most patients, this will be the use of a hearing aid.
