Getting Tested

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Types of Treatment

In most cases, conductive hearing loss responds to medical treatment, and hearing is restored when the underlying condition is remedied. When medical approaches are not indicated or effective, the use of hearing aids or other types of amplification (i.e. - bone conduction implants) may provide effective means to better hearing for people with conductive hearing loss. Sensorineural hearing loss is most often caused by damage to the inner ear hair cells. Sensorineural hearing loss is usually permanent since hair cells do not repair themselves and cannot be medically treated once damaged. Hearing aids and cochlear implants may provide effective means to better hearing for individuals with sensorineural hearing loss. In fact, for more than 95% of cases of sensorineural hearing loss, hearing aids or cochlear implants are the recommended course of treatment.

Get Your Hearing Tested

Early diagnosis – via a comprehensive hearing evaluation - and prompt treatment are important with hearing loss, and result in the most successful outcomes.

Get Professional Help

The diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss begins with a comprehensive hearing evaluation to determine the amount of hearing in each ear. A visit to a professional who specializes in hearing testing and hearing aids or cochlear implants is typically the first step in the evaluation and treatment of hearing loss.

Audiologists have master’s or doctorate degrees in the diagnosis and rehabilitation of hearing loss. Some audiologists specialize in hearing instruments; others may specialize in cochlear implants, tinnitus, pediatric audiology, educational audiology, hearing conservation, or other areas of audiology. Some may have several areas of specialty. In addition to treating hearing loss through amplification, audiologists identify and refer any conditions that require treatment by an otolaryngologist or ENT (ear, nose and throat) physician. The physician will often use the results of audiological testing to assist in diagnosing and treating ear conditions. Hearing Instrument Specialists are trained to perform hearing evaluations and dispense hearing instruments. They abide by state licensure laws for hearing instrument dispensing, and may also hold board certification. They are trained to refer to physicians for treatable ear conditions.

Comprehensive Hearing Evaluation

A comprehensive hearing evaluation is a painless, non-invasive, quick and inexpensive exam, typically taking 30 – 45 minutes for most adults.

What to expect

A comprehensive hearing evaluation begins with a thorough case history and an examination of your ear canals and eardrums with a special ear light called an otoscope. Next, the levels of hearing in each of your ears are measured. During this test, a series of tones of different frequencies (or pitches) as well as speech signals are presented to each ear through earphones in a sound treated test booth or quiet room. You’ll be asked to respond to the test signals either by a hand raise, pushing a button, or in the case of speech signals, repeating what was heard. The lowest level you can hear each signal at least half the time is called your threshold. The thresholds for each ear are plotted on a chart called an audiogram.

Further tests may be conducted during the evaluation. Your ability to understand words or sentences at different levels may be assessed; tympanometry, or testing of middle ear function may be conducted; and tests that assess the auditory system from the inner ear to the brain may be performed.