We encourage our patients to ask questions. Over the years, we’ve built and answered a collection of “favorite” questions that you might find helpful.
Audiologists are primary hearing health providers who diagnose, treat and manage patients with hearing loss or balance problems. Audiologists have Doctoral or Master’s degrees, and their academic and clinical training provides the foundation for patient management from birth through adulthood.
A comprehensive hearing evaluation will include a case history, tympanometry, acoustic immittance, pure-tone audiometry, speech tests, and acoustic emissions test (if needed). For children, a comprehensive hearing evaluation will include these, but may also have visual reinforcement audiometry or conditioned play audiometry, depending upon the age, maturity and willingness of your child to participate.
Plan on a 1 hour time block for your scheduled hearing test & to review recommendations. You may also choose to schedule a return visit to discuss hearing aids.
A common type of hearing loss is a high frequency loss where the low frequencies can be heard but the high frequencies cannot. With this kind of hearing loss, you can hear the voice but you don’t clearly hear consonant sounds, such as [s], [t], [ch], [sh], and [f]. So you may hear the word “sheep” instead of “cheap” or “fifty” instead of “fifteen”. If you have trouble hearing clearly in quiet it only gets worse in noisy places or when someone is across the room. That could spell trouble for many people who work in restaurants and customer service jobs or people who live in senior residences where meals are served in large dining areas.
Hearing aids range in price depending on the level of technology, the office where you purchase the aids, and the level of service the office provides. A variety of accessories are also available that enable Bluetooth capability with a variety of electronic devices.
Your vestibular system and auditory system are closely related. There are some disorders/diseases of the inner ear that may cause both dizziness and hearing loss (i.e. Meniere’s disease). A hearing test provides your physician with valuable information that may help determine the cause for your dizziness or vertigo.
The classic definition of tinnitus is the perception of sound with no external source. There is no known cure for tinnitus but there are treatment options. At Karen Scott Audiology we perform tinnitus evaluations and provide treatment programs. There are a number of tinnitus treatment methods, and the appropriate method will depend on the outcome of the evaluation.
Medicare requires a referral from your physician. Many insurance companies will pay for hearing testing with a physician referral. In some cases a physician referral may not be required. It is important that you refer to your individual insurance company’s plan to determine whether a referral is warranted and whether the cost of the evaluation is covered.
No, Medicare does not cover hearing aids. However, some health insurance carriers have hearing aid benefits. It depends upon your employer’s specific contract with your health insurance. Call your insurance company and ask if your policy has hearing aid benefits. Usually the customer service number is on the back of your insurance card.