Great Questions to ask your Audiologist

Hearing loss can impact all people. It doesn’t matter if you are young or old, this could be something that you experience. If you have recently been diagnosed with hearing loss, you may have some questions that you want to ask your audiologist. Or you may be struggling to think of the information that you might want right now because this wasn’t something that you were necessarily expecting. Either way, we are going to be looking at common questions to ask your audiologist.

What type of hearing loss do I have?

One of the most common questions is about the type of hearing loss. There are many different types as there usually is with most things, so it’s important that you understand all about your hearing loss. Your health is important, and to be able to fully manage your hearing health, you need to understand it.

An audiologist will be able to tell you all about the type of hearing loss you’ve had and give you any information that you want. Do not hesitate to ask any further questions regarding the information that you have been given or ask for clarification if there is anything that you don’t understand.

Will it get worse?

This is another important question because it will help to manage the hearing loss. Many people want to know if the loss of hearing is going to get worse over time, or if it will remain the same. In most cases, hearing loss will decline over the rest of your life, but there are things that you can do to keep this at bay as much as you can.

How can I protect it from further damage?

When the audiologist tells you that there are things you can do to prevent further damage to your hearing, you are going to want to know what these things are. One thing that you can do is make sure to avoid loud noises wherever possible. For example, don’t stay in the same room as your washing machine while it is going through a cycle. This might not seem like it could have a big impact on your hearing, but it can. 

You should also ensure that you are not listening to music above the safe level. It’s tempting to turn it up and just blare it out, but this can be harmful to your hearing in the long run. There are a whole range of other things that you can do on top of these, so it’s important to ask when you see your audiologist.

Is there anything that can be done to help?

Everyone wants to know if there is anything that can be done to help with the hearing loss. Most hearing loss isn’t going to be reversible, but there are things that can be done to manage the symptoms. For example, if you have tinnitus, then your audiologist might recommend that you get some hearing aids to see if this will help you. It doesn’t work for everyone, but hearing aids emit a low frequency constantly and this sometimes helps to drown out and minimize the impacts tinnitus is having on your life.

Is it genetic?

It’s important to find out whether your type of hearing loss is genetic. This might be the case so that your children know to expect it, or you may want to know so that the rest of your family can take preventive measures to keep it away for as long as possible. Either way, your audiologist will be able to tell you if yours is genetic, or if it has been caused by lifestyle factors, maybe even other medical problems.

Would hearing aids help?

We mentioned above that hearing aids can sometimes be useful in treating tinnitus, so you might want to know if it could help treat your hearing loss too. Hearing aids are going to be effective for a whole range of hearing loss types, so it’s always worth asking. There are also different types of hearing aids available, so make sure that you ask about these as well. Different hearing aid types serve different levels of hearing loss from mild to severe, making it important information to have.

If you want to learn more about hearing loss, get in touch with Salyer Hearing Center. You can contact us at Sylva: 828-586-7474, Franklin: 828-524-5599 and Murphy: 828-835-1014 to have all your questions or queries answered.