One of our recent blog posts outlined why regular hearing appointments are critical for your health and why you need to stay on top of scheduling them. Therefore, we hope you have a hearing appointment scheduled to update your audiogram and check in with your audiologist. If you do, that’s wonderful! Here are some ways you can prepare for this appointment.
Priorities of This Hearing Appointment
To begin with, this appointment will have a different set of priorities than your first hearing appointment. Your first appointment was to determine whether you had hearing loss and if so, its severity, cause and type. That first appointment also established your hearing loss treatment plan.
This time, we’re checking in on your hearing health and your treatment plan. We’ll want to know things such as:
- If your hearing loss has progressed, and if so, how much (e.g., grown more severe)
- If your hearing loss has changed, and if so, how (e.g., unilateral hearing loss has become bilateral)
- If new hearing loss symptoms have manifested (e.g., difficulty hearing speech)
- If you’ve picked up any new hobbies or started a new job that might affect the noise levels you’re regularly exposed to
- If your hearing aids are still working as they should (e.g., no moisture damage, battery issues or feedback)
- If your hearing aid settings need to be adjusted (e.g., change pitch amplification)
- If you need a new custom listening program added to your settings
- If you have any new diagnoses, as many health conditions can indirectly impact hearing health (e.g., diabetes)
How You Can Prepare
With the list of priorities above in mind, consider keeping a diary or log of any hearing- or hearing aid-related observations you have in the days or weeks leading up to your appointment. Writing things like this down will help you remember, so when we ask you, “So, what’s new with your hearing?” you won’t feel put on the spot and draw a blank.
Taking notes on your hearing: if you’ve noticed any new symptoms of hearing loss, jot them down quickly. Perhaps you realized that the TV was turned on really high, or a loved one approached you with a concern. These are great notes to make for later, as it indicates that your hearing loss has changed since the last time you were evaluated.
Taking notes on your hearing aids: We want to ensure that your hearing aids are an effective tool in your hearing loss management, keeping you connected to the world of sound. If you’ve had any issues with them, please make a note so we can discuss them together.
What to Expect at the Appointment
In structure, a routine hearing appointment will look quite similar to your first appointment: discussion, diagnostic testing and debrief on results. The difference this time is that you’re updating what was discovered the last time, rather than starting anew.
We look forward to seeing you at your next hearing appointment! If you still need to schedule one, call Kampsen Hearing today to get on the calendar.