Hearing tests are a quick and effective way to measure whether or not a person is experiencing some form of hearing loss, but many of us never attend a hearing test appointment until we begin to notice a decline in our hearing abilities. Consequently, we usually do not know what to expect when attending a hearing test. However, there is no need to worry. These tests usually only last around 30 minutes and are simple to understand, but it always helps to come to your hearing test prepared, so here are some things that you should expect on the day of your appointment.

You Will Need to Provide Your Hearing Health History

When you attend your appointment, your hearing care professional will probably ask you about your hearing health before your hearing test or ask you to fill out a questionnaire. This may ask you about hearing loss in your family and when you began noticing problems with your hearing. Any medical conditions that you have will also need to be noted down. Therefore, it may be a good idea to think about all of this information beforehand so that you can fill out the forms quickly and efficiently. The more accurate the information you provide, the easier it will be for your hearing health professional to help you.

You Will Need to Listen to Noises at Different Frequencies

When you go for your hearing test, you will most likely be played a series of sounds at different frequencies and asked to alert the hearing specialist when you can hear these sounds. It is worth noting that these noises will usually be played into your ears through headphones; if you prefer, you could ask to bring your own headphones with you. Your ears will be tested individually to see if your hearing is worse in one ear than the other. While your hearing is being tested, you may need to wear a special headband that can test how well you can hear certain sounds through vibrations, so it may be a good idea to make sure any long hair is tied back before your appointment begins.

Your Hearing Health Professional May Examine Your Ears

Your hearing specialist will examine your ears using a small camera, which they will use to check the health of your ears. While they are doing this, they will make sure that nothing is stuck inside your ear, such as a build-up of earwax, which could explain any hearing difficulty. Unfortunately, over time, earwax and dirt can build up in our ears, impacting our hearing ability. This could obviously affect your ability to hear properly during your test, and so you should give your ears a quick clean before your appointment with a warm damp cloth. However, you must be gentle when you do this as you do not want to damage your ears. Your hearing healthcare professional may even show you on a computer screen exactly what they can see inside your ear and this will give you a better understanding of how your ear works.