Being able to hear what is going on around you is a major part of leading a normal, full and enjoyable life. Interacting effectively with others and the environment as a whole is significantly less challenging when your hearing is functioning at or near it's full capacity. When it's not, it's easy to start having difficulty understanding what is happening. Although man associate hearing loss with old age, it can happen to anyone regardless of how old they are. Anyone who is experiencing signs of such difficulties should take them seriously and possibly have a hearing evaluation performed to determine the cause and best form of treatment.
When hearing loss does occur it is not always immediately noticeable when the onset is gradual, especially to the person who is undergoing the changes. At times other people are more likely to recognize the signs that a problem is developing.
Changes in behavior are the most easily recognized signs. One example is when one begins to attend fewer social events. It may be that difficulty with hearing is causing it to be difficult to be at such gatherings and they would rather avoid being in an uncomfortable situation. Another classic sign is when the person has the volume on the radio or TV noticeably louder than they previously would have. This is an example of something that might be occur slowly over time and be hard to notice. Complaints by others of the person not listening to what they are saying is a common sign as well.
If one or more of these or other signs leads one to suspect that there is a significant problem that needs to be addressed, then help can be sought. Going to the doctor may result in a referral to an audiologist in order to get a hearing evaluation.
The audiologist will have different methods of making the assessment. One is an audiometer test in which the patient sits in a soundproof room wearing special earphones. The audiometer produces tones of varying frequency and volume in the earphones for the patient to identify. The audiologist records the results on an audiogram, which will then show at which frequencies or volumes there are problems for the patient.
A tuning fork is often used to help determine the type of loss. It is placed on the center of the forehead and the patient then tells whether the sound is the same in both ears or if they can hear it better in one ear than in the other.
Another test can be performed to assess how well one can hear when there is background noise. The patient must repeat sentences that they hear. This is done at first without any background noise, then it repeated with extra noise coming from different angles and at differing volumes.
After the hearing evaluation has been performed and the results analyzed, the health care team can then determine the appropriate course of action. They will employ the means that they feel are most likely to help the person to be able to hear normally and fully enjoy their life.
When hearing loss does occur it is not always immediately noticeable when the onset is gradual, especially to the person who is undergoing the changes. At times other people are more likely to recognize the signs that a problem is developing.
Changes in behavior are the most easily recognized signs. One example is when one begins to attend fewer social events. It may be that difficulty with hearing is causing it to be difficult to be at such gatherings and they would rather avoid being in an uncomfortable situation. Another classic sign is when the person has the volume on the radio or TV noticeably louder than they previously would have. This is an example of something that might be occur slowly over time and be hard to notice. Complaints by others of the person not listening to what they are saying is a common sign as well.
If one or more of these or other signs leads one to suspect that there is a significant problem that needs to be addressed, then help can be sought. Going to the doctor may result in a referral to an audiologist in order to get a hearing evaluation.
The audiologist will have different methods of making the assessment. One is an audiometer test in which the patient sits in a soundproof room wearing special earphones. The audiometer produces tones of varying frequency and volume in the earphones for the patient to identify. The audiologist records the results on an audiogram, which will then show at which frequencies or volumes there are problems for the patient.
A tuning fork is often used to help determine the type of loss. It is placed on the center of the forehead and the patient then tells whether the sound is the same in both ears or if they can hear it better in one ear than in the other.
Another test can be performed to assess how well one can hear when there is background noise. The patient must repeat sentences that they hear. This is done at first without any background noise, then it repeated with extra noise coming from different angles and at differing volumes.
After the hearing evaluation has been performed and the results analyzed, the health care team can then determine the appropriate course of action. They will employ the means that they feel are most likely to help the person to be able to hear normally and fully enjoy their life.
About the Author:
You can visit the website hearingassociatesmd.com for more helpful information about The Basics Of A Hearing Evaluation
No comments:
Post a Comment