How to Help Bad Hearing

Bad hearing makes life difficult for people like George. His morning begins when he sleeps through his clanging alarm clock. George turns on the TV and cranks up the volume, only to have his exasperated wife scurry in and turn it down to what seems like a whisper. At work, George often asks people to repeat what they are saying. Later, George can't follow his family's conversation in a noisy restaurant. The struggles of fictional George are true for people who suffering from hearing loss, but help is available through listening devices like hearing aids and communication strategies.

Instructions

• 1

  See your primary care physician or an ear, nose and throat doctor to determine if there is an actual hearing loss or a medical condition present that requires treatment. If hearing loss is detected, the doctor will refer you to a qualified hearing health professional for a hearing test.

• 2

  Take the hearing test given by a qualified audiologist. The test measures the severity of the hearing loss and helps the hearing care professional to determine whether hearing aids would improve your hearing. Hearing aids amplify sounds and offer various designs and features.

• 3

  If hearing aids are recommended, check into possible coverage by insurance companies, company plans or military benefits for veterans. Some plans cover hearing testing, but do not include the cost of hearing aids.

• 4

  Select a hearing care provider through resources such as a doctor's referral or on the recommendation of friends if you require a hearing aid. Ask the hearing aid dispenser for a written statement explaining the trial period, which is a 30 day period in most states.

• 5

  Ask for Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) at public events or meetings. Specially trained professionals use a stenotype machine, a computer and software to type the text of the spoken word. The words are instantaneously projected onto a screen.