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Older woman receiving a hearing assessment, illustrating hearing screening vs hearing test.

What’s the Difference Between a Hearing Screening and a Hearing Test?

The television is a little louder than it used to be, and conversations across the dinner table take more effort to follow. These changes can be easy to brush aside, especially when you still hear most sounds around you. Once you decide to have your hearing checked, you might not know whether a quick screening or a full hearing test is the right option for you. When you’re weighing hearing screening vs hearing test options, the main difference is how much information you get. A screening checks whether further testing may be needed. A full hearing test investigates your hearing in

My Child Passed Their Hearing Test but Still Struggles: Understanding Auditory Processing Disorder

It is a conversation we have often, usually in September or October. A teacher has raised a concern; the child does not seem to be listening, misses instructions, or falls behind when the classroom gets noisy. A hearing test is arranged, the results come back normal, and the family is left with the same question they started with: if the hearing is fine, what is going on? For some of these children, the answer may be auditory processing disorder (APD). Photo by CDC What Is Auditory Processing Disorder? Auditory processing disorder (APD), also called central auditory processing disorder, affects how the

a student struggling to hear in a classroom

How Can Hearing Difficulties Affect a Child at School

A child may follow conversations easily at home but struggle to understand a teacher in a busy classroom. They might copy what another student is doing, miss part of an assignment, or give an answer that doesn’t match the question. These moments can look like distraction or confusion, even when the child is trying hard to keep up. Hearing difficulties at school can affect much more than a child’s ability to notice sounds. They may influence learning, classroom participation, friendships, confidence, and energy levels. Because the signs aren’t always obvious, parents and teachers may not immediately realize that hearing could be

a hearing aid fitting appointment with a audiologist showing the patient how to put in his hearing aid

What Happens During a Hearing Aid Fitting and Follow Up

Choosing hearing aids can feel like the biggest step in improving your hearing. Once you’ve selected the devices, you may expect to put them on, turn them on and head home. Hearing aids need more preparation than that. They have to be programmed for your hearing, checked while you’re wearing them and adjusted so they feel comfortable. A hearing aid fitting is the appointment where those pieces come together. Your audiologist sets up the devices, verifies how they’re performing and teaches you how to use them. You’ll then try them during your regular activities and return for follow up care based

The Ontario Infant Hearing Program: A Parent’s Guide to Newborn Hearing Screening

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash Few things matter more to new parents than knowing their baby is healthy. Among the screening tests offered shortly after birth, the newborn hearing screening is one of the most important yet often overlooked. Hearing plays a critical role in a child’s early development, supporting speech and language acquisition, communication, learning, and social interaction. Identifying any hearing differences as early as possible gives families and healthcare professionals the best opportunity to provide timely support. Ontario has had a universal newborn hearing screening program in place since the early 2000s, delivered through the Infant Hearing Program

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RIGHT ON THE BUTTON

The great strides in hearing instrument design can be partially attributed to the tiny batteries that power sophisticated digital systems. However, this capability comes with a potential price. To young children, button batteries look like shiny coins. And as young children are prone to do, they often put things in their mouths that pose a danger. A swallowed button battery may become lodged in the esophagus, where it introduces an electrical current that flows through the tissue without children betraying any signs of obvious injury. The number of small children treated in emergency rooms for swallowed batteries has nearly doubled in

PRESBYCUSIS

The term “presbycusis” refers to the slow and progressive loss of hearing that affects both ears to the same degree, usually starting around the age of 50. This age-related loss of hearing most often starts in the high-frequency range, where conversation is conducted The term “presbycusis” refers to the slow and progressive loss of hearing that affects both ears to the same degree, usually starting around the age of 50. This age-related loss of hearing most often starts in the high-frequency range, where conversation is conducted

GAMING TINNITUS

While there is no current cure for “tinnitus,” researchers have developed a computer game that they hope will bring relief. The persistent noise that tinnitus sufferers endure in their heads is the result of wayward sound-processing nerve cells producing the illusion of non-existent sound. The concept of the computer game under development calls for tinnitus sufferers to complete a jigsaw puzzle on a tablet computer by using audio cues to find puzzle pieces. As they move their fingers on the screen, the sound tells them if they are on the right path. The sounds are tailored to the characteristics of each

ALL SOUNDS NOT TREATED EQUALLY

It used to be that hearing instruments amplified sounds of all frequencies equally. This meant that the lower-frequency sounds associated with background noise were given the same emphasis as high-frequency sounds found in conversation. This approach did not help those with the most common type of hearing loss, which primarily occurs in the higher frequencies. Since then, however, the digital age has ushered in products that help make conversation in the higher frequencies more distinguishable. Digitally programmed hearing instruments use microchip technology to customize amplification of sound. By turning up some frequencies and keeping others at normal input levels, it is

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