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Audiology
Helping you hear better
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Good hearing can be a crucial part of good health. It helps you stay safe. It keeps you connected to others. And it helps you share the joys of life. Hearing lets you experience the sounds of birds chirping, an exultant symphony and children giggling at play.
Audiology experts at Winchester Hospital are dedicated to helping you hear your best. We offer a wide array of hearing tests to evaluate suspected hearing loss. Based on your test results, we may recommend treatment with our Ear, Nose & Throat specialists or hearing aids and assistive devices. You’ll find a full range of hearing aids onsite. We can help you find the best device for your specific needs.
About Hearing Loss
The treatment that’s right for you depends on the type of hearing loss you have and its underlying cause.
- Conductive hearing loss occurs when there’s a problem with your ear canal, eardrum or middle ear. Sound has a hard time getting through your outer and middle ear.
- Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when there’s a problem with your inner ear. Problems with the nerve pathways from the inner ear to the brain may also cause this type of hearing loss.
- Mixed hearing loss is a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss.
Symptoms of Hearing Loss
If you have sudden hearing loss, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. Often, however, hearing loss symptoms develop gradually. You may not notice it at first. Asking yourself these questions may help you determine if you could have a hearing problem.
Do you:
- Find it hard to follow a conversation if two or more people are talking at once?
- Get told that the volume on your television or radio is too high?
- Have a hard time hearing on the phone?
- Have difficulty understanding women and children when they speak?
- Have trouble understanding others’ speech when there’s noise in the background?
- Misunderstand what others are saying?
- Misunderstand words that seem familiar?
- Often ask people to repeat what they’ve said?
- Withdraw from conversations with others because it’s hard to hear what others are saying?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might benefit from a hearing test.
Causes of Hearing Loss
There are many potential causes of hearing loss. Some of these causes include:
- Aging
- Allergies
- Ear infection
- Fluid in the middle ear
- Foreign body in the ear
- Head trauma
- Heredity
- Impacted ear wax
- Malformation of the outer ear, ear canal or middle ear
- Perforated eardrum
- Tumors
As part of your diagnosis, we may do tests to determine which part of your ear is affected, the degree of hearing loss and its cause.
Treating Hearing Loss
Treatments for hearing loss depend on the type of hearing loss and its cause.
Doctors can often help conductive hearing loss with medical or surgical treatment. Sensorineural hearing loss is usually permanent. However, hearing aids and other assistive devices may be helpful.
Services & Specialties
At Winchester Hospital many experts work together to ensure you get the best possible care.
