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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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EASILY EXPLAINED HEARING LOSS

While some forms of hearing loss fall into the “sensorineural” category (involving damage to the inner ear), “conductive” hearing loss is associated with a problem in the middle or outer ear that impedes sound waves from reaching the inner ear. Most common among this type of hearing loss are blockages caused by earwax (cerumen), which is the yellowish, waxy substance secreted by glands in the outer portion of the ear canal. Normally, as the skin of the ear canal grows outward from the eardrum, it carries wax to the ear opening as if it were on a conveyer belt. While proper,

SOUND FAMILIAR?

Many tinnitus sufferers have found a way to live with the constant ringing in their ears; others are not so fortunate, as the buzzing sound in their ears is so pronounced that it is difficult to concentrate during the day or sleep at night. In either case, tinnitus sufferers can benefit from an evaluation from an audiologist. On the basis of that exam, either a hearing instrument or a sound generator may be recommended. While the former makes sound so clear that the buzzing noise may recede, the latter drowns out the buzzing sound with a sound of a specific frequency.

IS HEARING LOSS LINKED TO ALZHEIMER’S?

There are a number of studies that suggest a link between sensory impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. For instance, one study found that people suffering from hearing loss had a 30% to 40% greater chance per year of experiencing cognitive decline than people with normal hearing. The rates of cognitive decline were directly related to the level of study participants’ hearing loss. However, it remains unclear whether the sensory problems precede Alzheimer’s disease or the other way around. Some researchers believe that Alzheimer’s disease may affect nerve pathways to the brain that transmit auditory information, while others think that hearing impairment may

HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT OPEN-FIT INSTRUMENTS?

The biggest news involving hearing instruments in recent years revolves around the introduction and widespread popular acceptance of “open-fit” hearing instruments. What makes these instruments so special is their design, which places miniature digital components completely behind the ear, which eliminates the need for a mould. From there, a small plastic tube attached to the business end of the instrument brings sound to the ear canal. Popular excitement with this type of hearing instrument stems primarily from the fact that it is so comfortable. There is no mould to insert in the ear, and the ear canal remains open, so there

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