The Consultation is carried out Free of Charge within the comfort and pleasant surroundings of our hearing centre in Horncastle by an experienced Hearing Aid Audiologist with a minimum of 13 years experience. Or you can choose to visit one of our local day centres in Lincoln, Sleaford, Spalding or Holbeach. Alternatively, we can carry out the Free hearing assessment in the comfort of your own home.
A detailed case history is taken concentrating on any hearing and communication difficulties that may affect your lifestyle. We will then carry out a full examination of the outer ear to establish the condition of the auricle (pinna), ear canal and eardrums to check if the ear is healthy or whether any abnormalities are present; if the latter is the case we will refer you to your G.P.
We will then perform a thorough hearing test, which will produce an audiogram showing whether you have a hearing loss or not, if the test indicates a loss we will be able to show and explain the extent of any such loss. Basically, the audiogram is the product of the hearing test, more precisely it is a graphical representation showing the loudness (intensity) levels at which specific pitches (frequencies) can only just be heard in each ear (hearing threshold), as well as some of the loudest sounds that we can hear without causing discomfort. The procedure for the audiometric test is:
Not everyone has a hearing loss, but for those who do there are many ways that they can be helped. It may be that from the test it becomes apparent that a person's problem can be improved by medication or by surgery, in which case they will be refered to their GP. Those losses that can't be improved in this way can often be improved by hearing instruments or special listening devices. Although even the most advanced and sophisticated hearing instruments cannot fully restore someone's hearing, they can improve it considerably, hence giving a better quality of life.
