Reasons for Seeing an Audiologist
There are several reasons why you should visit an audiologist. Below are a list of questions and if you can answer yes to any of these questions you may want to make an appointment with an audiologist.
1. Does your work or hobbies expose you to loud sounds? We have a variety of affordable hearing protection that can help you.
2. Do you need hearing protection and also need to hear people talking to you at the same time? There is special custom and non-custom hearing protection that protects your hearing but still allows you to hear talking and noises.
3. Are you a musician? Most musicians who play in groups need hearing protection and need to hear their music (and conductor) at the same time. We have custom and non-sustom solutions for musicians.
4. Are you a drummer? All drummers are in danger of damaging their hearing permanently. We have custom and non-custom solutions for drummers.
5. Do you wear an earphone in order for others to communicate with you? We have custom earmold solutions for these earpieces so they are much more comfortable and provide better sound quality.
6. Are you a hunter? All hunters are in danger of damaging their hearing. There is special hearing protection for hunters that allows them to hear until they need protection.
7. Are you a musician who uses (or wants to use) a personal monitoring system? We provide custom earmolds for these systems and can advise you on the type of system you might want to use.
8. Do you complain that people are mumbling? Most people do mumble and don't communicate extremely well. When you have normal hearing, this isn't a problem, but if you are starting to lose hearing, you will notice this mumbling and it will impact your ability to communicate successfully. You may be ready for hearing aids.
9. Do you have difficulty hearing your telephone ringing and your door bell? There are special alerting devices for the phone and doorbell.
10. Do you have difficulty hearing your smoke alarm? There are special assistive devices that will alert you to your smoke detector.
11. Do you have difficulty hearing your alarm clock? There are special alarm clocks for individuals who have hearing challenges.
12. Is it difficult to understand children's voices? Children do not speak clearly at certain ages. If you have normal hearing, this generally is not a problem, but if you have a hearing loss hearing children can be frustrating. It is time to get your hearing checked.
13. Do you have difficulty hearing at a lecture or in groups of people? Hearing aids may help some of these situations, but there are other devices that may provide greater assistance when distance and noise are getting in the way of your hearing.
14. Does your family say you are missing things or do you notice people laughing at jokes you didn't hear? It is time to get your hearing checked.
15. Do you experience ringing in your ears? It is important to have a medical and audiological evaluation if you are experiencing ringing. If it is found that there is nothing medical that can be treated to stop the ringing, you may want to pursue Tinnitus Retraining Therapy that provides strategies and techniques for reducing the annoyance of the ringing sounds.
16. Do you think you are not hearing as well as you used to? It is time to come in for a complete hearing evaluation.
17. Have you had a sudden hearing loss? It is important that you come in right away to see an otologist and audiologist if you have had a sudden change in hearing.
18. Are you a swimmer who needs to keep water out of your ears? We make custom earmolds for swimmers.
19. Has a doctor told you that you need to keep your ears dry at all times (showers, baths, etc.)? We make custom earmolds to keep your ears dry.
20. Do you have difficulty hearing on the telephone? There are special phone amplifiers or hearing aids to help. Your audiologist will make sure your hearing aid works with your telephone including your cell phone.
21. Do you have difficulty hearing religious services? A hearing aid may help or you may want to consider a special device for large rooms like churches and temples.
22. Do you have difficulty hearing the television if you turn it to a level that is comfortable for your family? It is time to get your hearing checked. Hearing aids help with the television or if you aren't ready for a hearing aid, there are special amplifying solutions for the television.
23. Do you find the information in advertisements about hearing tests and hearing aids really confusing? UPMC offers free educational seminars to the public each month which go over understanding hearing loss, understanding hearing aids, how to go about purchasing them, and understanding solutions for telephone communication.
24. Are you a new hearing aid user and wish you understood more about your hearing aids and how to better use them in specific situations? UPMC offers a three week course (one hour per week) to help you understand and use your hearing aids well.