There seems to be more misunderstanding when it concerns hearing care than with many other medical specialties. 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 very often uncertain as to what action we should take or who we should visit.
So what exactly can a local hearing care professional do for you? Many things, in fact—things that could result in making your life better and more convenient.
Here are 6 services you should know about.
1. Assessment of hearing and balance
Hearing professionals are specially trained in examining hearing and balance. If you think you have hearing loss, balance issues, or experience ringing in the ears, the local hearing specialist is the go-to professional.
By carrying out professional audiological evaluations, hearing specialists can skillfully diagnose the cause of your hearing loss or balance problems. And if your hearing loss is induced by an underlying medical condition, hearing specialists can prepare the appropriate referrals.
Additionally, If you have long-term ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus, some hearing specialists can supply targeted therapies.
2. Earwax extraction
In some cases, what is believed to be hearing loss is nothing more than too much earwax buildup. While it’s not the most glamorous component of the job, hearing specialists are skilled in professional ear cleaning. If this is the cause of your hearing loss, you could begin hearing better within a few minutes.
And keep in mind, it’s never safe to insert anything, most notably cotton swabs, into your ear canal at home. There are several other proper ways you can clean your ears, such as with homemade solutions or ideally by visiting the hearing specialist.
3. Personalized hearing protection
Many people make the error of first visiting the hearing specialist after they acquire hearing loss. Don’t make the same mistake. If you’re working in a loud occupation (for instance as a musician) or take part in loud activities (such as 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 commonly uncomfortable and produce an aggravating muffled sound. Custom earplugs fit comfortably in your ear and preserve the sounds you want to hear while protecting against the sounds that lead to damage.
4. Professional hearing tests (audiometry)
Hearing loss is invisible, pain-free, and oftentimes difficult to acknowledge or accept. The only method to attain an accurate diagnosis is with the aid of a professional hearing assessment referred to as audiometry.
Making use of leading-edge equipment and techniques, the hearing specialist can accurately diagnose hearing loss. After carrying out the test, the final results are printed on a diagram called an audiogram. Like a fingerprint, everyone’s hearing loss is somewhat 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 customizing the technology.
5. Hearing aid selection and adjustment
Hearing aids come in several styles, from numerous manufacturers, equipped with countless capabilities. Since everyone’s hearing loss and preferences are different, this variety is required—but it does make things slightly overwhelming when you need to make a decision.
That’s where hearing specialists can help you. They’ll help you find the hearing aid that matches your hearing loss while making sure that you don’t waste cash on features you simply don’t care about or require.
Right after you discover the ideal hearing aid, your hearing specialist will use your audiogram as the blueprint for customization. That way, you’ll be sure that your hearing aid optimizes your hearing according to the sounds you primarily have difficulty hearing.
6. A lifetime of healthy hearing
The health of your hearing should always be maintained as intensely as any other component of your health. We have primary care physicians, dentists, and optometrists that help safeguard several aspects of our health on a continuous basis.
Likewise, we should have a specific 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 on-going. Hearing specialists offer a variety of valuable life-long services, including hearing aid cleaning, maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair, along with advice and direction on the latest technology.
So while your hearing will inevitably 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 benefits of healthy hearing for life.