Hearing Loss and Hearing Evaluations

Some facts about hearing loss and hearing aids:

1. You don't think you have a hearing problem?
   
   Approximately 30 million people have significant hearing loss. Often, the first people to notice the problem is your family. They notice that they often have to repeat themselves, that the volume on the TV has gone up etc.
   
   You may note that you miss a lot of the conversation but are often too embarrassed to tell anybody. Similarly, your family often won't say anything out of concern for your feelings. The net result is often frustration on the part of both you and your family.
   
2. Your hearing is OK but your ears ring?
   
   Ringing in the ears (tinnitus) is often a sign of damage to your inner ear, and is often associated with hearing loss.
   
3. Hearing aids don't work?
   
   While it may be true that hearing aids are not perfect, they often are able to help you hear people more easily and enable you to function better. Again, it is often your family that notices the benefits; that you are able to hear them better and are involved in more of their conversations.
   
4. Don't Hearing aids look bad/embarrassing?
   
   Technology has advanced to a point that hearing aids can often be "tailored" to meet your hearing needs. Hearing aids are available that fit completely in the ear canal and are very hard to see. The intensity of the amplification can be programmed to meet your needs.
   
   

Types of hearing tests:

1. Pure-tone audiometry helps us determine the level of your hearing loss and the frequencies at which you have hearing loss.
   
   
   
2. Tympanometry is a pressure test and helps us make sure that your ear drum is intact and functioning normally.
   
3. Our auditory brainstem response (ABR) can evaluate for problems in the nerves of the inner ear. The ABR is a non-invasive test in which electrodes are placed near your ear. Clicking sounds are used to stimulate your inner ear and the response of your inner are and your hearing nerve can be recorded.
   
   
   
   The ABR test does not require any conscious response from the patient. Thus it can be used to assess inner ear function and hearing loss in newborns, infants, and developmentally delayed individuals.
   
4. Otoacoustic emissions (OAE) is a non-invasive test in which a small microphone placed in the ear canal is used to record the movement of the microscopic hair cells in the inner ear. The test can be typically be completed in 5 minutes.
   
   OAEs are sounds generated from the hair cells in the cochlea of the inner ear, the part which is responsible for transmitting electrical auditory input to the auditory nerve and its pathway to the brain. OAEs are present in all individuals. Because the OAEs are non-invasive, quick to complete, and do not require a conscious response from the patient, they can be used to check the hearing in newborns and infants in whom conventional testing with pure-tone audiometry cannot be done. They are often used in hospitals to do hearing screening in newborns.
   
   The audiologists at Valley ENT are experts at administering and interpreting all these tests. They are also licensed to dispense hearing aids. They also perform servicing on the hearing aids.
   
   If you are experiencing problems with ringing or with your hearing, call our office to schedule an appointment for an ear exam and a hearing test.