You’re a really busy person, so it’s reasonable that you totally forgot about the hearing exam you have scheduled for tomorrow. Thankfully, you just received that reminder text from us, and you still have some time to get ready. So… what should you do?
Hearing exams aren’t like back in college or high school where you’d have to pull an all-nighter to study for an exam. With a hearing test, it’s more about attempting to remember everything you need to know regarding your symptoms. In other words, preparing for your hearing test is really about making sure you get as much out of your time with us as possible.
Get prepared with these 7 tips!
1. Make a list of your symptoms (and when they manifest)
Hearing loss doesn’t manifest the same way for everyone all the time. Some symptoms might be more prominent than others. So take a few notes on when your symptoms are most noticeable before you come see us. Some things you can list out include:
- During meetings at work, do you lose focus? Does this normally happen in the morning? All day?
- Was it hard to hear the television? Do you have it cranked way up? And do you experience that it’s more difficult to hear at night than in the morning?
- Is it a challenge to carry on conversations on the phone? Take note of times when understanding the person on the other end is more difficult.
- When you’re out in a busy restaurant, do you struggle to keep up with conversations? Does that happen a lot?
We find this kind of information very useful. If you can, take note of the time and date these symptoms occurred. If you can’t, just remember that they did occur.
2. Do some research on hearing aids
How much do you really know about hearing aids? It’s a relevant question because you don’t want to make any decisions influenced by what you think you know. If we tell you a hearing aid would be beneficial, that’s going to be the perfect opportunity to ask informed questions.
Knowing what kinds of hearing devices are out there and what your preferences might be can help speed along the process and help you get better answers.
3. Consider your medical past
This is another time when writing something down can help quicken the post-hearing-test-discussion. Before you come in, you should take some time to write down your medical history. Include major medical occurrences and also minor ones. Here are some examples:
- Medical devices you may currently be using.
- Any history of sickness or disease (you don’t need to note every cold, but anything that stands out).
- Medication interactions and allergies.
- Major or minor surgical procedures that you have had.
- Medications you’re currently taking.
4. Loud noisy environments should be avoided
If you go to a loud rock concert the day before your hearing test, it’s going to skew the outcome. The results will be similarly impacted if you go to an airshow the day of your exam. You can see where we’re going with this: you want to protect your ears from loud noises before your hearing test. This will help ensure your results are accurate and reflect your current hearing health.
5. Before your appointment, consult your insurance company
The way that health insurance and hearing tests interact can be… bewildering. If your hearing impairment is part of a medical condition, some insurance plans will cover it. But other plans may not. It’s a good plan to get all of this squared away before your appointment, so you’re more confident about what you can look forward to. We can also help you in certain cases. If we can’t, you will need to speak directly with your insurance company.
6. Bring a family member or friend in with you
Bringing a loved one or trusted friend with you to a hearing appointment isn’t strictly necessary, but it can provide numerous benefits. Here are several of the most prominent advantages:
- You’re likely to cover a lot of information at your exam. Having a dependable friend or loved one with you can help you remember all of that information later.
- You don’t always detect when your hearing isn’t working right but it’s a safe bet your spouse or partner does! So our exam and diagnosis will be determined by much deeper and more comprehensive information.
7. Be prepared for your results
With many medical diagnostics, it may be days or weeks before you get your diagnosis. But with a hearing exam, that’s not the situation. With a hearing exam, you will get the results right away.
And what’s even better, we’ll show you how you can improve your overall hearing health and walk you through the meaning of your results. Maybe that’s a hearing aid, maybe it’s some changes to your lifestyle, or some hearing protection. Either way, you’ll know it right away.
So you don’t have to overthink it. But being ready will be helpful, particularly for you.