Hearing Aid Candidacy

Friday, August 24, 2012 | Unknown at 8:05 PM |

If you have been diagnosed with hearing loss, you might be wondering if you are a candidate for hearing aids. If you suspect you may have hearing impairment or have noticed a decrease in your hearing sensitivity, and have yet to seek help - do so now! If you ever have to ask for repetition or you often do not understand or fake understanding during conversation, you may be a candidate for amplification.

In order to find out your candidacy, you must get an appointment for a thorough hearing evaluation. Your evaluation can be as quick as 30 minutes and may last as long as 90 minutes. You will have to complete some paperwork and questionnaires, discuss your medical history and hearing health history, and complete some objective and behavioral assessments of your hearing. The hearing healthcare provider will then review your responses.

Results of your hearing assessment should be explained in full, and your options provided and discussed. Your behavioral hearing test results will be plotted on a graph. This graph illustrates your hearing sensitivity. Results should be clearly displayed for right and left ear results. Right ear results are typically indicated by the following symbols in red: 'O', '<', and '['. Left ear results are typically indicated by the following in blue: 'X', '>', and ']'.

This graph, called an audiogram, will indicate your hearing status by pitch (in Hertz [Hz]) and volume (in decibels [dB]). The vertical axis indicates the level/volume of the sound in dB from soft (-10) to loud (110) from top to bottom. The horizontal axis of the graph indicates the pitch/frequency of the sound in Hz from low (125) to high (8000) from left to right. The softest you can hear in dB is marked for each pitch to determine your hearing sensitivity. The severity of hearing loss may be different at each frequency.

Hearing Level (dB) Classification

-10 to 15 Normal Hearing, 16 to 25 NH (adults), Slight HL (children), 26 to 40 Mild HL, 41 to 55 Moderate HL, 56 to 70 Moderately severe HL, 71 to 90 Severe HL, >90 Profound HL, Katz, J. (ed). (1994). Handbook of Clinical Audiology. (5th ed.). Baltimore: William & Wilkins.

Factors beyond just hearing loss also play into your candidacy for amplification. A person who has only a mild hearing loss may be fit with a hearing instrument, while a person with more severe loss is not. A patient must be medically clear, be aid-able, and have a communication need. Contact your hearing healthcare provider today to determine your hearing aid candidacy.