Importance of Regular Testing
Transcript
Dr. Wallace
It’s important for everyone, especially those in the military, to have their hearing tested on a regular basis. Military personnel who are constantly exposed to loud noise need to have their hearing tested annually.
Routinely having your hearing checked allows you to find out if you’re developing any type of hearing loss. Routine testing can result in early identification and management of medical or communication problems.
Regular testing can also identify potential occupational and recreational noise hazards in your life and facilitate action to prevent hearing loss — or additional hearing loss — by using hearing protection. Prevention and hearing protection are essential to safeguarding against hearing loss.
There are a number of different diagnostic procedures and tests available to measure hearing ability. These include:
- Pure-tone audiometry
- Speech audiometry
- Auditory brainstem response evaluations
- Otoacoustic emission testing
- Auditory steady-state response
- Tests of the middle ear, and
- Self-tests and simulations
It’s important to check with your hearing health provider to receive one or more of these tests.
By having your hearing tested annually, you’ll know if you’re developing a hearing loss. Then you can take steps to correct the issues, if treatable, and to prevent further hearing loss with the use of hearing protection.