What Happens During Your Annual Hearing Review Appointment?

A year goes by pretty quickly, and you probably don’t spend much of it thinking about your hearing. You might visit the Richfield Farmers Market on a Saturday or meet friends for lunch somewhere along Penn Avenue.

Most days, you’re simply going about your usual routine without giving much thought to whether you’re hearing things differently than last year.

When it’s time for your annual hearing review, you might wonder what the appointment involves, especially if you haven’t noticed any changes. There’s more to the visit than checking whether you can hear a series of beeps.

Your audiologist will also want to hear about your experiences since your last appointment. Even if everything seems fine, there’s still plenty to discuss and check.

Why Regular Checkups Are Important as Your Hearing Changes

You might feel like your hearing hasn’t changed at all since your last appointment. But small changes aren’t always easy to pick up on, especially when you’re used to hearing a certain way.

Annual reviews give your audiologist a chance to compare your hearing from one year to the next. Even when everything seems fine, those results are useful for keeping track of your hearing as you get older.

If you wear hearing aids, regular reviews are just as useful. Your devices might still be working perfectly well, but your hearing needs may have changed since they were first programmed.

Without another hearing test, you might not realize the settings need adjusting. Keeping up with your appointments means you’re not relying on hearing test results from several years ago.

How to Prepare and What to Bring

Before your annual hearing review, think about anything you’ve wanted to ask your audiologist since your last visit. Maybe there’s a setting on your hearing aids you’re unsure about or a conversation you had trouble following.

Jotting it down beforehand means you won’t have to remember it all during your appointment. When you arrive, the front desk staff will get you checked in before your review begins.

Here’s what to bring along:

• • Your hearing aids: Bring both devices, plus your charger, spare batteries or any cleaning tools you use.
  • Your questions: Write down anything you’ve been meaning to ask about your hearing or how your devices work.
  • A few notes: Think about places where hearing has been difficult or anything that’s changed since your last appointment.
  • Someone you trust: A family member or friend can come along, share anything they’ve noticed about your hearing and listen to what your audiologist recommends.

What to Expect During Your Annual Hearing Review

Your audiologist will ask whether you’ve noticed any changes in your hearing or had trouble in certain situations. If you wear hearing aids, they’ll also want to know how they have been working and whether anything has been bothering you.

Next, your audiologist will look inside your ears for wax buildup or anything unusual. They may also test your hearing to see how your results compare with your previous appointment.

If you wear hearing aids, they’ll check the devices, clean them if needed and make any necessary adjustments. This also gives you time to bring up any concerns about your hearing or the way your devices have been performing.

Tracking Changes in Your Daily Hearing and Symptoms

Your audiologist will probably ask whether anything has felt different with your ears since your last visit. Maybe you’ve had ringing that comes and goes or a plugged feeling that doesn’t seem to clear up.

They’ll want to know how long it’s been happening, whether it’s constant and if it’s in one ear or both. Even if it hasn’t bothered you much, it’s worth bringing up.

If you wear hearing aids, mention anything that’s been uncomfortable or unusual. Maybe one device has started rubbing against your ear, or you’ve heard whistling when you chew or talk.

Ear pain and headaches are worth discussing, too, especially if they’re new. Your audiologist can check your ears and hearing aids to see what might be causing the problem.

Reviewing Cleaning and Maintenance Habits

Your audiologist may ask you to walk through how you clean your hearing aids at home. They might notice that a wax guard hasn’t been changed recently or that you’ve been using a brush on an area that needs gentler cleaning.

Different styles have their own care instructions, so they’ll check whether your routine is right for the devices you wear.

If there’s a part you’ve never been quite sure how to clean, you can ask them to show you. Your audiologist may also recommend replacing certain pieces before they start causing problems.

You’ll leave knowing which cleaning tasks to handle yourself and when it’s better to bring your hearing aids into the office.

Steps Involved in a Standard Hearing Test

During your hearing test, you’ll sit in a quiet room with headphones or small earphones. Your audiologist will play beeps at different pitches and volumes, and you’ll press a button whenever you hear one.

Some will be very faint, so don’t worry if you’re unsure whether you heard something. You’ll also repeat words played through the headphones to check how well you recognize speech.

Afterward, you’ll look at your test results with your audiologist. They’ll show you an audiogram, which is a chart that records the softest sounds you heard at each pitch.

You don’t need to know how to read it beforehand. Your audiologist will explain the markings and point out anything that’s different from your last test.

They’ll also go over your speech test results and discuss whether any changes to your hearing aids are needed.

Fine-Tuning Your Devices

Your audiologist will check whether your hearing aids are producing sound the way they’re supposed to. They’ll also look into any battery problems you’ve been having.

Hearing aid manufacturers sometimes release software updates to fix technical issues or improve certain features. If an update is available for your model, your audiologist can install it during the visit.

You can also talk about places where they haven’t been working quite the way you’d like. If you’re struggling to follow conversations in restaurants, your audiologist may adjust the microphones to pick up speech more clearly.

They might also set up a separate listening program for busy places. If your hearing aids have been slipping or feeling uncomfortable, they can try a different dome size or adjust your earmolds to improve the fit.

Aligning Your Hearing Care with Lifestyle and Future Need

Since your last appointment, you may have started spending more time on the phone or attending activities where several people are talking.

Tell your audiologist about those changes, including anything you’d like to do differently with your hearing aids. They can walk you through features you haven’t used much, like answering calls through your devices.

You can also discuss when you put your hearing aids on and how long you usually keep them in. If you regularly take them out during the afternoon, your audiologist may ask what’s behind that habit.

Perhaps you need a break from wearing them or aren’t sure when to use certain settings. They’ll offer suggestions based on your routine rather than expecting you to wear your devices the same way as everyone else.

Planning Future Care and Scheduling Follow-Up Visits

Before your appointment ends, your audiologist may recommend a date for your next review based on your hearing history. Not everyone needs to follow the same schedule.

Certain findings may call for another test sooner, while others can be checked at your usual annual visit. You can also ask whether anything from your appointment needs to be followed up.

Your audiologist can arrange additional visits when there’s a reason to come in between yearly reviews.

For instance, a recent hearing aid adjustment may need another check after you’ve had time to use the new settings. They’ll discuss whether a return visit is necessary and what they will be checking when you come back.

Important Questions to Ask at Your Annual Review

You don’t have to wait until something goes wrong to ask your audiologist a question. Your annual review is a chance to bring up things you’ve been wondering about, even if they seem small.

Here are a few questions you might want to ask:

• Has my hearing changed much since last year?
• Do my hearing aids still match what I need?
• Are there any features on my hearing aids I should know about?
• How would I know if my hearing aids need repairing or adjusting?
• Was there anything unusual in my test results?
• Should I come back before my next annual review?

Staying Proactive About Your Hearing Health

An annual hearing review doesn’t have to end with a change to your hearing aids or a new recommendation. Sometimes, you’ll find that everything is working just as it should.

You might also get an answer to something that’s been bothering you or learn something about your hearing that you hadn’t considered.

At The Hearing Clinic at Woodlake in Richfield, MN, we take the time to listen to what you have to say. We know you’ve got your own routines and preferences, and we want your hearing care to reflect that.

Whether it’s been a year since your last visit or a little longer, you can call us at (612) 200-8403 to schedule your annual review.