Hearing Loss

As people age, many senses tend to decrease in efficiency, including the ability to hear. Hearing loss can be a normal occurrence, but it can also be exacerbated by excessive earwax, tumors of the ear canal, or injuries to the ear. If you have noticed a decrease in your hearing ability, or a complete hearing loss, Douglas Anderson, MD of Utah is here to treat and diagnose your condition.

When people lose their hearing, they can experience some frustrating and embarrassing side effects. These unpleasant situations include difficulty hearing people during conversation, turning the volume up very high on the TV or radio, and trouble understanding people who are talking when there is background noise. To diagnose hearing loss and prevent any further damage for Utah patients, Douglas Anderson may perform one of the following tests to better understand the issue.

Tests for Hearing Loss

• General Hearing Test: The doctor will complete a physical examination, looking for any obstructions or injuries that could be causing the hearing loss such as tumors, growths, excessive earwax, and inflammation. After examining the ear canals, the doctor will gauge your hearing capacity for sounds at various volumes.
• Tuning Fork Tests: For this test, your doctor will use tuning forks to determine whether your hearing loss is the result of damage to your eardrum or nerves of the inner ear. Tuning forks are two-pronged, metal instruments that create different sounds when they are struck on one another, or a different object. 
• Audiometer Tests: Patients will listen to series of noises through a special pair of headphones. The sounds are at various tones and volumes, and you will need to indicate when you hear each sound and in what ear you heard it.

It is important to take preventative measures to avoid hearing loss, especially if you work in a loud environment. Always wear protective earmuffs to buffer noise when working with loud machinery and take regular breaks in noisy environments (such as a concert). It is also important to meet with your doctor for annual hearing tests to identify any problems before they become a permanent issue. Contact us at our Ogden office today to schedule a test for hearing loss with Douglas Anderson, MD.

To learn more about earwax removal at Ogden contact Dr. Douglas Anderson's Utah Allergist office to schedule an appointment.