the screening process

At Audiology Associates, we’re different for a lot of reasons (see our services). One is that we always focus on your needs: making you comfortable, helping you understand your options, and providing a level of expertise and experience that’s unmatched in northern Colorado.

If you’d like to understand how the screening process works, it’s outlined below. And please remember that you can always contact us with any questions!

1. Scheduling your appointment

Please contact us to schedule an appointment. We’ll meet with you for about an hour, which gives enough time for us to answer your questions about various issues, take a comprehensive history, conduct the hearing evaluation, explain what we did and why, and make recommendations that are the best for you.

2. History and examination

At your first visit to the clinic, we’ll review your case history and answer any preliminary questions you have. Then an ear examination is conducted to make sure that there’s no ear wax in the canal that could be causing any hearing loss. Once we know the ear canals are clear, we take you into our sound-treated room for the hearing evaluation.

3. The hearing evaluation

Once you’re seated in the sound-treated room, we’ll tell you how the hearing examination works, answer your questions, and insert the headphones in the ear canal. The hearing test is comfortable and quick: First, you’ll hear some tones; you simply push a button whenever you hear the sound. Then the audiologist will present words to you to re-check hearing levels and to see how well you understand speech. At this point, you’re also tested to determine where the hearing loss resides – if there is any – looking to see if the hearing loss is in the outer or middle ear, or in the inner ear.

4. Discussing the evaluation

In this part of the session, we’ll present the results of the hearing evaluation, making sure to do so in an easy-to-understand way. At the end of this 15-20 minute discussion, you’ll understand the tests that were conducted, why they were performed, and the results of the assessment. This is where we discuss what happens next: whether you need further evaluation, referral, or hearing aids.

At this point, we may present the options of hearing aids and explain the various types and styles of products that are best for you. We also discuss the fitting process, along with prices and terms. For example, all hearing aids can be returned for 30 days after the fitting. We typically require 50% down and 50% at the fitting of the instruments; if necessary, financing programs are also explained at this time.

Please contact us if you have any questions about the process or to schedule an appointment. We look forward to helping you!