Hearing Evaluations & Hearing Assistance Program

Our Audiology Department offers the following clinical services:

Comprehensive audiological evaluations
Audiological screenings
Immittance testing of middle ear function
Measurements of distortion product and transient otoacoustic emissions (assesses the function of the outer hair cells in the cochlea)
Hearing aid dispensing and evaluations, including programmable and digital hearing aids

How do I get started?

The first step begins with a hearing evaluation with our audiologist. Your audiogram takes approximately 20 minutes. After your audiogram, you will meet with Dr. Alexiou to assess your candidacy for hearing aids.

If you are a candidate for hearing aids, you can schedule an appointment to discuss which hearing aid product is right for you. At that appointment, we will take earmold impressions of your ears. This appointment takes 30-45 minutes.

Generally it takes 2 weeks for us to receive your hearing aid from the manufacturer. At that time, we will call you to schedule an appointment for your initial fitting. At this appointment we will customize your hearing aids, show you how to use your hearing aids and answer any questions you may have. This appointment takes approximately 1 hour.

Following your initial fit. During the next month, we will work closely with you to ensure your hearing aids are performing optimally. We can provide you with weekly hearing aid checks as needed, and these take about 15 minutes.

Is a hearing aid right for me?

Hearing aids are for people with a hearing loss. Whether or not you have a hearing loss can sometimes be difficult to determine.

Asking yourself the following questions can help:

Do people say you are shouting when you talk to them?
Do you need the TV or radio turned up louder then other people?
Do you have to ask people often to repeat what they say because you can't quite hear them, especially in crowds or when there is background noise?
Do you have difficulty hearing a noise if you are not facing the direction it's coming from?
Do you seem to hear better out of one ear then the other?
Do you have to strain to hear?
Do you keep hearing a hissing or ringing background noise?
Do you have difficulty hearing a dripping faucet or the high notes of a violin?

If you answered yes to even one of these questions we strongly recommend a hearing evaluation.

What is a hearing evaluation?

A hearing evaluation is administered by a Hearing Health Care Professional, and assesses the patient's ability to distinguish sounds in the environment. At Alexiou Hearing and Sinus Center, our audiologist, Dr.Wehman, will administer a hearing test that checks your ability to recognize tones and everyday words at different volume levels. The data collected on your test will provide a unique hearing pattern that is recorded on a chart called an audiogram. Using your audiogram, Dr. Alexiou will determine whether you might benefit from hearing aids, or whether surgical or medical treatment might improve your hearing.

If you are a hearing aid candidate, we will be happy to schedule an appointment with Dr.Wehman to discuss the various levels of hearing amplification technology that would best suit your individual hearing needs.

How are hearing aids obtained?

All hearing aids at our practice are custom-made to fit the shape of your individual ear. Dr.Wehman will start by taking an impression of your ear. This impression duplicates the contours of your ear. The impression is then sent to the hearing aid manufacturer where your impression will be used to make an exact replication of your ear's shape in creating your hearing aid.

How will my hearing aid sound?

All hearing aids sold at our practice are 100% digital, and incorporate the latest digital processing technology to optimize performance. Using your hearing test and descriptions of how you hear in various listening situations, Dr. Wehman will chose the optimum setting for your hearing aid. Over a series of visits, she will work closely with you to adjust the hearing aid to best fit your needs.