Beyond the Beeps: Understanding Your Complete Hearing Assessment

What Should I Expect During A Hearing Evaluation?

Nervous about getting your hearing checked? Dr. Jill Copley demystifies the entire process in this reassuring conversation about what really happens during a comprehensive hearing evaluation. You might be surprised to learn that modern hearing assessments involve much more than just raising your hand when you hear beeps!

The journey begins with a thorough case history where we explore your specific concerns, medical background, and daily listening challenges. We examine your ears for wax buildup and check for fluid that might indicate an ear infection. The diagnostic testing includes both the familiar tone testing and—more importantly—speech testing that mimics real-world listening situations. We'll assess how well you understand speech in quiet conditions and then challenge your hearing with background noise, simulating those difficult restaurant conversations that many patients struggle with.

Whether you've been putting off getting your hearing checked due to anxiety or simply want to understand what's involved, this episode provides a clear, friendly roadmap to better hearing. Remember, there are no wrong answers in a hearing test—we're simply looking to find the best you can perform so we can help you hear your best in all life situations.

To learn more about Total Hearing Care visit:
https://www.TotalHearingCare.com

Total Hearing Care
Multiple Locations Across the DFW Metroplex
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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Total Hearing Care Difference where we
help you experience lifethrough better hearing.
Hosted by the experts at TotalHearing Care, a leading private
audiology practice serving theDFW Metroplex, we're here to
provide guidance on hearing loss, tinnitus and the latest
advancements in audiology.
Transform your life throughbetter hearing.

(00:23):
Let's get started.

Speaker 2 (00:39):
Nervous about your first hearing evaluation?
Don't be.
It's not a pop quiz and thereare definitely no wrong answers.
We're walking you through whathappens during a hearing test,
from the cozy headphones to thelittle button.
You through what happens duringa hearing test, from the cozy
headphones to the little button.
You'll be pressing like a gameshow contestant.
Tune in to why this simpleevaluation is the first step
towards better hearing.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sophia Yvette, co-host,slash producer, back in the

(01:00):
studio with Dr Jill Copley.
Dr Copley, how's it going today?
I'm great, sophia.
Thank you so much.
It's good to be back.
It's good to have you back.
So, dr Copley, what should?

Speaker 3 (01:17):
I expect, during a hearing evaluation.
So that's a great question andwe try to be very thorough in
our evaluations.
Like Sophia mentioned, peoplekind of think of a hearing test
where we play beeps and you pushthat button to let us know you
hear it, and of course we'regoing to do that.
But most people are not worriedabout hearing beeps in real

(01:38):
life.
They're worried about thingslike do I have an ear infection?
Do I have wax?
I don't hear well in backgroundnoise.
I'm having trouble hearing in arestaurant, so we want to look
at all of those things.
So when you come in, one of thefirst things we'll do is talk
about your what we call a casehistory and we'll look at items

(01:59):
that affect your hearing andwe'll look at your medications
to make sure nothing might beinterfering with your hearing
and the symptoms you're givingus.
As far as the actual testing,we're going to look in your ears
and check for wax, because wewant to rule that out as causing
your issues with either hearingloss or tinnitus.

(02:23):
Then we're going to do a testto check for any fluid in your
ears, behind your ear, which maybe indicative of an ear
infection.
If that test comes out positivefor fluid or an ear infection,
we are going to have you seeyour physician or an ear, nose
and throat doctor to addressthat first, because that can

(02:46):
interfere with your hearing.
Then we're going to do thetesting with all those beeps and
then what we want to start tolook at is how are you hearing
speech and how are youunderstanding people?
So we're going to do somespeech testing in quiet and then
we're going to do some speechtesting in quiet and then we're
going to do some testing whenthere's background noise,

(03:08):
Because most people will say Ican hear fine when it's in quiet
.
I can hear you right here aswe're talking, but it's when I
get into background noise.
So that's a very important test.
We'll also do a cognitivescreening.
So we found that when you havehearing loss or when you have
cognitive issues, you're morelikely to have a hearing loss.

(03:29):
So we want to do a cognitivescreening just to see where
you're at.
Then, if we do see issues there, we can either address them
with how we address your hearingloss or we can send you to your
physician or a neurologist todo a diagnostic evaluation for
you.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
So, Dr Copley, how long does a typical hearing
evaluation take?

Speaker 3 (03:55):
So our appointments which sound really long but we
do a lot during the actualappointment are anywhere from
about two to two and a halfhours long.
So we want to spend lots oftime with you, getting to know
you and making sure we'readdressing all of your needs.
That appointment will includethat case history, as I
mentioned, the hearing testingand, as you asked, the hearing

(04:18):
testing itself probably takesabout 20 to 30 minutes and then,
if you do have hearing lossloss and you probably have
something going on, if you'vecome to see us, we want to
address that and we'll talkabout treatment options and you
can actually start treatmentthat day in our office, and so

(04:38):
then we would go through stufflike paperwork and things like
that.

Speaker 2 (04:43):
Dr Copley getting into the tests a bit more.
What kind of tests areperformed during the evaluation?

Speaker 3 (04:52):
So I'm going to focus on the speech, because that's
what most people are concernedabout is how they're processing
speech and how they're going todo in background noise, for
instance.
We are going to say a series ofwords in quiet and we'll have
you repeat them and we'll dothat at a comfortable level for

(05:14):
you.
So we're going to look at yourhearing test results when you
push that button for the beepand then we're going to increase
it to where you can hear uswell and we'll see what your
understanding is, what yourmaximum understanding is for
quiet.
And then the way the speech andnoise testing works is we're

(05:34):
going to have a lady say asentence and you'll repeat that
sentence and as you go along,that noise is going to get
louder and the speech is goingto get softer.
So we're trying to find outwhat is the softest you can hear
the lady saying in thebackground noise.

(05:55):
Now, if you're having sometrouble with that, which most
people do, but we want to lookat the severity of that.
So there are certain categoriesfor that that tell us what
difficulty you're having andthat can help us with
determining your treatment.
As far as the cognitivescreening which I really enjoy

(06:16):
because that gives me moreinformation about your
processing.
We're going to look atshort-term memory how quickly
you can respond and howdifficult it might be in
background noise.
However, this is an actualvisual test so it takes hearing
out of it, but it can give uslots of information about how

(06:37):
you're processing theinformation.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
Dr Copley, will I receive my results immediately
or is therea waiting period?

Speaker 3 (06:45):
No, you would receive them immediately.
So as soon as we're done withthe testing, we will review your
results and talk about how yourhearing results affect how your
brain is processing thatinformation.
You'll find that I talk a lotabout the brain, because that's
what does our hearing for us thesound goes into the ear, but

(07:07):
our brain actually does theprocessing.
So we try to focus on how thoseresults are going to affect how
your brain is processing, aswell as how those results are
impacting the concerns thatyou've brought to the
appointment.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
So, dr Copley, one final question for you today
what if I fall asleep during thetest?
Does that mean I officiallycan't hear my spouse?

Speaker 3 (07:32):
Well, if you're doing that at home, that might be a
problem.
But seriously, if you do seemto doze off during the
appointment sometimes people areon medications or they're just
older and it is hard to stayawake we can split that
appointment up into a couple ofappointments for you, just to
make sure that we're gettingaccurate results, because

(07:52):
certainly if you're fatigued youmay not be able to give us the
best results, because we'relooking to find the best you can
perform and the best you canhear, so we can best treat you.

Speaker 2 (08:04):
Well, thank you for sharing those important insights
with us today.
Dr Copley, we'll catch you inthe next episode.
Have a fantastic rest of yourday, my pleasure.

Speaker 3 (08:14):
Have a great day yourself.

Speaker 1 (08:18):
Thank you for listening to the Total Hearing
Care Difference.
If you're in the DFW Metroplexand ready to take the next step
toward better hearing, call469-218-4853 to book an
appointment or visitTotalHearingCarecom, because
when you hear better, you livebetter.
See you next time.