{"id":891,"date":"2025-03-20T19:18:11","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T23:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/?p=891"},"modified":"2025-03-20T19:18:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T23:18:29","slug":"what-to-expect-from-an-appointment-with-a-hearing-specialist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/what-to-expect-from-an-appointment-with-a-hearing-specialist\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Expect From an Appointment With a Hearing Specialist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve started noticing that sounds are a bit more muffled than usual or other people seem to be mumbling, it could <a href=\"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/hearing-loss\/hearing-loss\/\">indicate hearing loss<\/a>. The best way to get to the root of your hearing troubles is by scheduling a hearing test with one of our specialists at <span class=\"company-name \">Gulf Coast Audiology<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h2>How Does Hearing Testing Work?<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Audiometry and hearing aid diagnosis\" src=\"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Audiometry-and-hearing-aid-diagnosis-768x512.jpg\" alt=\"Audiometry and hearing aid diagnosis\" width=\"525\" height=\"350\" class=\"wp-image-894 alignright\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Audiometry-and-hearing-aid-diagnosis-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Audiometry-and-hearing-aid-diagnosis.jpg 1254w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 525px) 100vw, 525px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Before testing, your hearing specialist will ask about your symptoms, medical history and lifestyle (exposure to loud noise, frequent swimming, etc.). Following that, they will administer one or more of the following tests:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tympanometry<\/strong>. If there\u2019s a blockage or fluid behind the eardrum, it can affect hearing. Tympanometry is a quick test where a small device plays noise and changes air pressure inside the ear to see how the eardrum responds.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Pure tone (audiometry) testing<\/strong>. This is the classic \u201cbeep test.\u201d You\u2019ll wear headphones, listen for tones at different pitches and volumes and press a button when you hear them. This helps create an audiogram, a chart that maps out hearing ability. To help you picture the different frequencies, think of the difference between your dog barking and a bird tweeting at Lakes Park. The dog is likely at a lower frequency than the bird.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Speech testing<\/strong>. Hearing is about volume and clarity. Pure tone testing measures your ability to hear at different volumes and frequencies, while speech testing measures how well you can recognize and process words and sentences. Some words may be played along with background noise, mimicking real-world situations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For a complete overview of the different types of hearing tests, check <a href=\"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/hearing-loss\/hearing-tests\/\">here<\/a>. There are a few different outcomes for hearing testing, including but not limited to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Permanent inner ear hearing loss<\/li>\n<li>Permanent middle ear hearing loss<\/li>\n<li>Temporary middle ear hearing loss from ear infections, earwax blockages and other issues that prevent sound from moving through the ears<\/li>\n<li>Auditory processing disorder (APD)\u2014a condition where the brain receives but does not effectively process speech<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What if I Have Hearing Loss?<\/h2>\n<p>More than <a href=\"https:\/\/my.clevelandclinic.org\/health\/diseases\/17673-hearing-loss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">10% of the U.S. population has hearing loss<\/a>. If you have hearing loss or auditory processing disorder, don\u2019t stress. We can help you find the right treatment path forward, whether hearing aids, auditory training or treating the underlying condition (ear infections, etc.).<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about hearing loss testing and treatment, contact <span class=\"company-name \">Gulf Coast Audiology<\/span> today.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"related-posts\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/4-essential-tools-for-hearing-aid-maintenance\/\" class=\"related-post\">4 Essential Tools for Hearing Aid Maintenance<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/five-common-reasons-you-should-see-an-audiologist\/\" class=\"related-post\">Five Common Reasons You Should See an Audiologist<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/tips-to-celebrate-the-new-year-without-harming-your-hearing\/\" class=\"related-post\">Tips to Celebrate the New Year Without Harming Your Hearing<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve started noticing that sounds are a bit more muffled than usual or other people seem to be mumbling, it could indicate hearing loss. The best way to get to the root of your hearing troubles is by scheduling a hearing test with one of our specialists at . How Does Hearing Testing Work?&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","locid":"","rating":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hearing-aids","category-hearing-loss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=891"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":896,"href":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891\/revisions\/896"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gulfcoastaudiology.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}