Hearing Consultation
You will be seen by a clinical audiologist who specialises in the assessment and management of hearing loss. During your appointment, we will conduct several observations and tests before discussing the results and developing a management plan with you.
We will take a detailed history of any ear-related symptoms to understand the issues you are experiencing. They will also review various listening situations to assess how you are coping if you currently have hearing aids, identify situations where you are still struggling, and discuss how it affects your daily life and your current management strategies.
Using an otoscope, we will examine your ear canal to ensure it is free from occluding ear wax or debris and to check the physical appearance of your tympanic membrane (eardrum).
Pure tone audiometry (a hearing test that measures a person’s ability to hear different frequencies and pitches) will be performed in a soundproof booth with headphones on. Your clinical audiologist will play a range of tones at different volume levels into one ear at a time, determining your hearing thresholds based on your responses.
Tympanometry will be conducted to assess the function of your middle ear by gently changing the air pressure in your ear with an ear plug.
Speech testing may also be performed to further understand any hearing difficulties you are experiencing. You will be asked to repeat words and sentences played through your headphones, both with and without background noise.
After completing the tests, we will explain all the results to you and provide insights into the range of hearing aid technologies available. They will offer recommendations, and together you will discuss aiding and management options to find the best solution for your hearing needs.
Hearing aid fitting
We will first ensure that the hearing aid fits comfortably and securely in your ear. We will then perform a verification procedure to calibrate the hearing aid correctly for the shape and size of your ear.
Verification may involve one of the following methods:
- Real ear measurement (rems): a soft, flexible tube will be placed into your ear canal, allowing the audiologist to record the level of sound inside your ear. A speech-type sound will then be played through a speaker, and the hearing aid will be adjusted to the correct levels.
- In-situ audiometry: a series of quiet tones will be presented through the hearing aid, and you will be asked to press a button each time you hear a tone.
Hearing aid review
This appointment provides an opportunity to discuss how you are managing with your hearing aids, address any issues you may be experiencing, and determine if any further adjustments to the program settings are needed.
We will check and clean the hearing aids to ensure they are working at their optimum level. Based on your feedback, we can make necessary adjustments to the hearing aids to enhance your hearing experience.
