4 Things to Expect at Your First Audiologist Appointment

If you’re going to see an audiologist for the first time, you may be wondering what to expect. You may be slightly nervous, or you might be excited about the prospect of finding out more about hearing aids. If you’ve got your first appointment coming up, here are four things you can expect.

1. Your medical history

If you’re attending your first appointment, it’s common to be asked to fill in a form, which includes details about your health and your medical history. You may be asked about any allergies you have, medical procedures you’ve had in the past or any medication you take, for example. It’s important that your audiologist has access to this information to ensure that they can provide care that is tailored to your needs. In addition to filling in a form, your audiologist may also ask you some simple questions about your medical history during your appointment.

2. Talking about your hearing

If you’ve been having trouble hearing of late or you feel that your hearing has deteriorated gradually over a prolonged period of time, your audiologist will ask you some questions to find out more about the situation. They may want to know if there are times when you find it more difficult to hear than others, for example, when there’s background noise, or if there are specific sounds, for example, high-pitch noises, that you struggle with more than others.

3. Hearing tests

After you’ve had a chat with your audiologist, they will carry out some tests to see how well you can hear and highlight any problems. Your audiologist will also examine your ears with an instrument called an otoscope. This can help to detect problems that may be hampering your ability to hear, such as signs of an infection or excessive earwax inside the ear canal. It’s likely that your audiologist will ask you to undertake a series of simple hearing tests, which usually take place in a soundproof booth. You will be played a spectrum of noises and tones and asked to respond if you can hear them. Your audiologist will adjust the volume, tone, and pitch to gather more information about your hearing capabilities and pinpoint specific issues. You may also be asked to repeat sentences your audiologist gives you to see how you respond to speech.

4. Talking about the results

When you’ve finished your tests, your audiologist will discuss the findings with you. They can explain what the graphs and readings mean and go through some treatment options with you. If you would benefit from wearing hearing aids, your audiologist will organize an appointment to discuss all the options, provide information about how hearing aids work and answer any questions you have about hearing aids.

Are you preparing to go to your first audiologist appointment? If you’re nervous, it can help to know what to expect when you arrive at the clinic. Audiologist appointments are completely painless, and there’s no need to be anxious. Your audiologist will have a chat with you, they’ll carry out some basic tests, and then discuss the results with you.