Tips from an audiologist about hearing loss for patients and medical providers

The purple flag indicators of a hearing-related subject that requires medical consideration embody sudden listening to loss, or listening to loss in just one ear. Such signs needs to be taken severely and assessed by a doctor, audiologist Stephanie DiSpigno advises.

DiSpigno treats listening to loss and tinnitus (ringing within the ear), and suits sufferers with listening to aids at Listen 2 Life Hearing Centers, which has clinics in Bucks and Montgomery Counties.

She spoke to The Inquirer about what sufferers have to know when contemplating visiting knowledgeable to handle listening to complaints.

The distinction between an audiologist and a doctor

Audiologists assess the severity of listening to loss and might present therapy choices. Physicians, equivalent to ear, nostril, and throat specialists, can assess whether or not listening to signs are a part of a medical situation.

Know the purple flags

Seek medical consideration any time you expertise fluid draining out of the ear, sudden listening to loss, listening to loss or ringing that impacts just one ear. Balance points will be one other symptom of an ear-related subject that deserves looking for medical consideration.

“Anything that may be a purple flag, we at all times defer to our ENT companions,” DiSpigno stated.

Call your insurer

Private and public insurance coverage protection for listening to aids can differ broadly. Among the government-funded protection packages for seniors and low-income households, Medicaid in Pennsylvania covers listening to aids for kids, however Medicare doesn’t for seniors.

“We assist every affected person make the only option, audiometrically and financially,” she stated.

Don’t wait

Many sufferers anticipate years after being identified with listening to loss to pursue therapy, DiSpigno stated. For some sufferers, listening to loss can set off emotions of grief and worries about ageing.

But developments in therapy choices enable sufferers to shortly regain their high quality of life.

“Once they notice that their listening to loss is impacting their high quality of life, do one thing about it,” she stated.

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