Hearing Consultation in Princeton and Monroe, NJ
Located in the Central New Jersey area, and serving the communities of Princeton, Monroe, Plainsboro and other nearby cities, Princeton Otolaryngology Associates specializes in audiology. If you live in New Jersey and have a hearing, balance, or related ear problem, don’t hesitate to pay us a visit and our audiologists, Karen K. Herring, M.S., FAAA and Dr. Rajool Dave, Au. D, FAAA, will carefully examine your hearing problem, find its cause and determine the best treatment for it.
What to expect from the hearing consultation?
A hearing consultation involves an audiologist and staff examining your hearing issues and administering a few tests to determine if there is hearing loss. During this initial visit, the patient’s hearing history or case history is taken, the ear is carefully examined and several hearing tests may be conducted.
What is the Purpose of a Hearing Test?
A hearing test will help the audiologist determine the cause of the hearing disorder. This is done by measuring the patient’s ability to hear sounds that are usually transmitted through certain parts of the ear and skull. During a hearing test the patient is expected to respond to stimuli that come in the form of words or tones; however, not all hearing tests require a direct response from the patient.
Types of Hearing Tests Administered by Audiologists
The audiologist will perform different tests to check your hearing and the results will tell them the exact cause of the hearing disorder. These include pure-tone testing, speech testing and testing the middle ear, auditory brainstem response (ABR) and optoacoustic emissions (OAE). The main purpose of these tests is to determine the real cause and figure out treatment options.
What does the hearing test tell the audiologist?
Hearing tests give the audiologist several clues about the nature of your hearing health. The most important indicator is whether there is an actual hearing loss. Once hearing loss is identified, determining what the cause of it is the next step. The extent of the hearing loss is also important. Certain hearing aids are designed for those with more extensive hearing damage.
Damage may be in one or both ears. Finally, the results of hearing tests help the audiologist dictate what the best treatment will be according to the client’s preferences.
Self-Test for Hearing Loss
Before coming into the audiologist’s office, it may be helpful to the patient to do a quick self-test to evaluate how hearing loss may have affected his or her life. There is no one scientific test to determine if hearing loss is present, but there are a few quick assessments that can be made. The results of these assessments can be reported to the audiologist to help evaluate the symptoms. The American Speech and Hearing Association have tests to evaluate adult and children’s hearing.
If you think you are in need of professional testing for hearing loss or damage, a consultation with Karen Herring or Dr. Dave will surely answer all your questions. Contact Princeton Otolaryngology Associates for a hearing consultation. Our practice serves patients throughout the neighboring communities of Princeton, Monroe and Plainsboro.
