What Should You Ask Your Audiologist About Hearing Loss?

Hearing loss can have a major impact on your life, as well as being an anxiety-inducing condition. Many people struggle in silence as they don’t want to be open about the fact they are experiencing hearing loss difficulties. But, in this type of situation it is always best to keep informed as much as possible, and this means asking your audiologist the right questions.

When you are preparing to deal with hearing loss and approach it in the right way, you have to make sure you ask the right questions. So, what should you ask your audiologist about hearing loss? Well, there are a number of excellent options to consider here, and these are some of the key questions to keep in mind right now.

What Type of Hearing Loss Do I Have?

Understanding the type of hearing loss, you are experiencing is vital for knowing what your options are, as well as being able to develop a strong plan of action moving forward. Here are some of the most common types of hearing loss that you can expect your audiologist to tell you about.

Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Sensorineural hearing loss is the most common type, and this is caused by damage to the inner ear nerves and hair cells. This can typically be age-related hearing loss, or it might be noise-induced. It’s a type of hearing loss that affects the pathways from the brain to the ear, and it usually cannot be reversed or corrected. In this instance, the only option is hearing aids, that can help to improve your hearing again.

Conductive Hearing Loss

Conductive hearing loss is something that is caused by obstructions in the ear, most notably things like earwax or fluid. Such obstructions can prevent sound from reaching the inner ear, and this can usually be treated by medicine.

Mixed Hearing Loss

Mixed hearing loss, is, as the name suggests, a combination of both sensorineural and conductive hearing loss. This can sometimes be more challenging to treat due to the nature of the fact this is a combination.

How Bad is My Hearing Loss?

Understanding how bad your hearing loss is can have a massive impact on the way you are able to treat it. Asking your audiologist about the severity of your hearing loss keeps you informed, and means that together you can formulate a plan of action. Here are the different degrees of hearing loss you can expect to face.

• Mild: Mild hearing loss is the least concerning, and this will often mean difficulty hearing softly spoken people.
• Moderate: Moderate hearing loss makes it difficult to hear both consonant and vowel sounds and may often struggle to understand what is being said without some kind of hearing aid.
• Severe: Those with severe hearing loss will most likely find that they are unable to hear speech at all without the use of hearing aids.

There are so many ideas that you should be looking to make the most of when it comes to improving your hearing loss and dealing with it in the best possible way. There are plenty of factors that will play a role in helping you deal with your hearing loss, and this is something you need to speak to an audiologist about as much as possible.