Occasionally, you may have trouble hearing people speaking when you are in a crowded room. You may also find yourself having to ask the other party to repeat themselves so that you can be sure of what you heard. Sometimes, you have been told that you have raised the volume on the TV way too high. Even in the absence of external noises, others might have told that you are speaking louder than usual.
While most people may wonder what is wrong with their hearing, not all of them are aware that they might have hearing loss. Hearing loss can be a very gradual process and it is important to have your hearing checked if you suspect that you may have some form of hearing loss. Elderly folks who do not address their hearing loss may become socially withdrawn due to their embarrassment of not hearing well in social settings. Such isolation can affect interpersonal relationships and may even lead to depression.
A hearing test, also known as a Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA), checks a person’s ability to hear across a range of loudness and pitches. You will put on earphones in our soundproof room and short tones will be played to you. Once you hear the tones, you respond by pressing a button or raising your hand. This point of audibility will be charted on a graph (audiogram) and the process will be repeated across various sound ranges. This charted test report will be able to indicate if you have hearing loss and the extent of loss, if any. If you do not have hearing loss, this test will also reflect normal hearing levels.
If hearing loss is detected, the next step is to work on increasing the volume of sounds for you to hear clearer and better. Fitting yourself with hearing aids is the next step and our Consultants will shortlist suitable hearing aids for you to try on during the same visit.
While you can never restore your natural hearing, advancements in hearing aid technologies are available to let you hear as naturally as possible. Take control of your hearing loss and be fitted with properly prescribed hearing aids as soon as hearing loss is detected. This is the best way to support your hearing needs and preserve the remaining hearing that you have.