Hearing is evaluated in two different ways. The first way, which is the most familiar, is through pure tone testing. These beeps give the audiologist a map of your hearing at each pitch.
The second way to evaluate hearing is through speech discrimination. Speech discrimination uses monosyllabic words at a comfortable level for the patient. This essentially assesses the patient’s understanding. Speech discrimination testing will give the audiologist an idea of future hearing aid success.
Hearing aids can be set correctly to the patients hearing loss, however with a poor speech understanding score, the patient will most likely have areas where they still experience difficulty. It is important to have a complete audiometric evaluation yearly to assess both your hearing and understanding. Annual evaluations will help your audiologist determine if any adjustments need made to your hearing aids.
To schedule your annual visit in our Altoona, Ebensburg, or Martinsburg office, just give Lemme Audiology Associates a call at (814) 941-7770.
Jenessa Stiles, Au.D.
