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The Importance of Hearing Screenings

Hi, my name is Dr. Tessitore from Now Hear This Hearing Aids and Audiology in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Today I’m going to talk to you about the importance of hearing screenings, as well as telling you the difference between what a hearing screening is and what a full audiological evaluation is. So, to start with, a hearing screening is where we test four pitches. We give you one tone and you either hear it or you don’t, so it’s a pass or fail. If you pass, that’s great! I’ll recommend that you come back for another screening in three years, and if you fail, I’m going to recommend that you come in for a full audiological evaluation. A hearing screening is usually complimentary. A hearing evaluation we’ll usually charge to the insurance company. It’s covered by insurance companies. There might be a copay depending on what your insurance is, but for the most part, it would be covered.

A full hearing test would involve 11 pitches, rather than four. We also determine the lowest level which you can hear those pitches, which basically determines what your hearing prescription is. We do other testing than just that. We also test how well you understand speech in quiet, we’ll test you at a louder comfortable volume for you to get the best understanding, and sometimes we’ll test you at a softer volume as well. We also will do speech testing in noise to help determine how well you understand speech in the presence of background noise. We also do some other testing trying to determine if you have a hearing loss, if that’s permanent due to the organ of hearing or the nerve of hearing, that’s called a sensorineural hearing loss, or whether it’s conductive, meaning it’s due to something that many be temporary. It could be wax in your ears, it could be fluid in your ears, so we have different means to test that.

So, we need to talk about the importance of hearing screenings are important because they are a good, quick way to determine if you have a hearing loss or not. If you fail the hearing screening, I can possibly give you some reasons why you’re not hearing well. Many people come to me and say that they hear at a normal volume, but they just can’t understand people. The clarity isn’t there. I can help explain that to you. If you have tinnitus, or ringing in your ears, it’s good to come get a hearing screening, about 70% of people with tinnitus also have some degree of hearing loss, so that’s good to have your hearing screening to rule that out.

And finally, one of the most important reasons to have your hearing screened is to tell if there are any medical concerns that we need to have addressed. I’ve been doing hearing screenings for years, and there’s been many times where a person fails a hearing test or fail a hearing screening and there’s an asymmetry, a difference between the ears, and that’s important to figure out and to acknowledge and to get further treatment for. Several people that I’ve tested in the past with hearing screenings, have actually passed the hearing screening, meaning I wouldn’t have referred them on to the hearing test, but they commented to me that in everyday situations, they happen to hear better out of one ear than the other. Some people have told me that they hear the tones better in one ear than the other. In those situations, I did refer for a full audiological evaluation, found an asymmetry, and then I referred to an ear, nose, throat physician, an ENT.

So, that’s why it’s important to get your hearing screening done. As I said, it’s good to have a screening done at age 50, and then I can tell you how often to have one done after that depending on the results of that screening.

If you have any questions or would like to have your hearing screened, feel free to call me. Dr. Tessitore at Now Hear This Audiology and Hearing Aids in Raleigh, North Carolina. If you like this content, feel free to like and subscribe! Have a great day!