The Importance Of Getting Your Hearing Test With Free Hearing Assessment Tests

Raise your hand if you have regular (or semi-regular) eye tests. Now raise your hands if you regular (or semi-regular) hearing tests. I bet a lot less of us do the latter don’t we?! Just like your eyesight, your hearing can deteriorate in just the same way from around the age of 25.

After spending over a decade at live music shows and festivals and probably not wearing my earplugs as often as I should, I was keen to see what effect this had had on my ears. I’d heard horror stories of friends of friends who had developed Tinnitus from live shows. And the thought terrified me. But not enough for me to be rigid with my ear protection.

The importance of having your hearing tested

The Hearing Care Partnership work out of opticians in a hope to encourage people to get their ears tested as well as their eyes. A number of opticians all over the country have professionally trained hearing aid audiologists on sight and offer free hearing assessments. I think this is a great incentive to get your hearing testing but not enough people know about it.

I think there’s a bit of a social stigma around hearing thinking it’s just for older people to worry about. And that hearing aids are just for pensioners, but this isn’t the case. The Hearing Care Partnership say that about 46% of people have never had their hearing testing.

Your eyes are connected to balance as well as hearing and hearing can not just affect the sound but also your general wellbeing and happiness. While it might be quite instant to tell if our vision changes, it can be harder to notice hearing loss.

My hearing assessment with The Hearing Care Partnership

I was booked in for my hearing assessment in a branch in Kingsbury which isn’t far from where I live. The appointment lasted 30-40 minutes in total and began with a chat about my hearing and lifestyle. I explained about the live shows, my day to day life and any medical history.  Then it was time for the hearing test. First up it was a visual check of the outer ear to check everything looked healthy which thankfully it did.

Then it was a check of the inner ear with a variety of tones being played through headphones. Like with an eye test you click a little button when you hear a tone. These vary in pitch and volume and help to see the extent of any hearing damage. This was done with both ears separately and thankfully again mine came back perfectly normal and within range. It was really interesting to see the pattern between the different tones which the audiologist ran through with me.

Then we did another test which involved putting something on the bone outside of the heat which vibrated. Due to the way your ears hear, this translated into sound and a similar test was done. This would help to see if there were any issues which part of the ear it was in.

Further hearing tests and additional services

The final test was about speech in noise where you’d hear something being said with some background noise. You’d repeat the line being said and then the next time the background noise would get louder. This helps to see how noise can affect how your perception of words comes into play. I know I’ve been in loud clubs/ bars before and how annoying it can be when you can’t hear someone you’re talking to. This is just like that.

Once I was done the audiologist wrote up a little report for me to show her findings. This is great to have to compare when you go the next time as you may be able to see any deterioration quicker. Alongside the free hearing tests, they also offer services such as ear wax removal, earplug moulding and fitting and hearing aids if you need them.

Until I went to get my hearing tested I never realised the importance of the tests. But I’m going to make sure I go back every 18-24 months and make sure it remains in healthy condition.

Have you ever had your hearing tested?

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