When you are ready to address your hearing loss, Carolina Hearing Doctors is uniquely able to help guide you to better hearing. In our work with ear surgeons, in university medical centers, and in specialized offices we have taken the best of each office and created the best consultation process – the right steps that lead to your restored hearing clarity.
1. Discussion of Hearing Problems
We want to first find the areas that are creating the most frustration with your hearing, how it’s affecting your overall quality of life. We encourage a family member to also come to this appointment; they can often identify specific instances of how the hearing decline is affecting you. We will review your medical history of ear health and related concerns to identify any medical issues that may be contributing to your hearing decline.
2. Audiology Evaluations
With that basic information, we then administer a series of hearing tests to measure both the capabilities and limits of your hearing. We will measure the softest sounds you are able to perceive as well as the upper limits of your hearing range. We’ll also compare your ability to understand speech at normal listening levels versus your preferred listening level, then also in quiet vs. how you understand in a busy background noise environment. These tests generally last about 45 minutes and give us all the details about your hearing to create the best treatment plan.
3. Discuss Results and Diagnosis
Once the nature and extent of your hearing loss is known, we will discuss your results and how your hearing profile explains the problems you are experiencing. This will include a diagnosis of likely causes, a prognosis for any future changes, and then a discussion of treatment options.
4. Recommended Plan for Next Steps
Lastly, we lay out options for solving your hearing situation. Those options will be one of the following:
- Nothing, because there’s not enough hearing loss to need anything. Monitoring, reevaluating your hearing in another couple of years will be the course of action because there is some hearing decline but not enough to need assistance.
- Medical referral, because we locate a treatable problem for your hearing loss and your
hearing can be restored with medication or surgery. (see section under conductive hearing loss. - Discussion about hearing aids, because your hearing has changed enough that you can enjoy a return to better hearing with hearing aids.
5. Hearing Aid Fitting & 6-Week Trial Period
Modern hearing technology comes in all sorts of forms, sizes, shapes, and colors (more information can be found here) Since no two people are the same, we use your comments about your needs and combine it with the findings from the examination. We account for what is possible with your hearing and recommend hearing aids that will realistically return your hearing to a useful and comfortable level. We choose from the 5 largest hearing aids brands, their unique styles and their multiple levels of technology. As an independent office we have options that no other local Winston-Salem office can offer.
With Carolina Hearing Doctors, you can then take your selected hearing aids for a six-week “test drive.” For six weeks, you use the hearing aids daily and experience exactly how they can return your hearing to better levels. We provide specific guidance for wearing, caring and adapting to the aids to ensure the best hearing possible. We schedule three return visits during this period to adjust your sound level as you adapt to the improved hearing.
By the end of the six weeks, your brain will have adapted to the new levels of sound, and you will know exactly how much they help. If you are pleased with some parts of the improvement but not everything, we may recommend additional time with other hearing aids that may work better for you.
In the end, if you are not happy with your improvement, then simply return the hearing aids with no obligation. We want people to enjoy better hearing but if hearing aids aren’t offering that level of improvement then you are not expected to keep them. Learn more about hearing aid options here.
Hear All Your Life. We Can Help.
Let’s face it; no one wants hearing loss or hearing aids. But even more, no one wants to be left out or isolated. You can help yourself or a your loved one focus more on “hearing” and put “loss” behind you. We Can Help. Your return to easy hearing starts with a phone call for examination – (336) 794-8212 – or an email to Info@CarolinaHearingDoctors.com.
