Our Services
Hearing Evaluation
A Hearing Evaluation Can Change Your Life!
Having a thorough hearing evaluation is the first important step in your hearing health journey. We’re here to help you and your loved ones hear better so you can get the most out of life. Together, through the hearing evaluation, our licensed hearing aid specialist will help you or a loved one discover if a hearing loss is present. If you are facing a hearing loss, we at Lifesounds Hearing Healthcare will be able to identify the type and degree of hearing loss and determine a comprehensive hearing solution plan that best fits your hearing needs, lifestyle, and preferences.
What Can You Expect When You Get a Hearing Test?
When you arrive for your hearing exam, you will be asked to fill in some confidential case history forms that record your personal information, medical history, and insurance verification. You will also fill in a questionnaire which helps us discover the specific types of environments where you may be experiencing hearing loss and hearing difficulties.
Next, we will examine your ears with an otoscope, a special instrument that allows us to see into your ear canal and examine your ear drum. Then we move on to the actual audiometric exam or hearing test. You will sit in a sound booth, wearing a headset while being presented a series of low and high frequency beeping tones, which assess your ability to understand sounds and conversation within a short distance. You will also be given several words to repeat and the results of these tests determines your percentage of hearing loss, your ability to understand speech, and whether or not the use of hearing aids is a recommended solution for you.
Understanding Your Hearing Test Results
The results of your hearing exam will be recorded on a form called an audiogram. The audiogram reflects your hearing ability in frequencies and decibels. We’ll review and explain the type, pattern, and degree of hearing loss as well as what you are still able to hear in normal conversations and what types of sounds and speech you are missing. We then discuss how your hearing loss relates to your overall communication skills and how hearing difficulties may be affecting your life.
Next, we will consider the hearing healthcare solutions available for you to improve your hearing and overall communication. You can trust that the hearing aid professional at Lifesounds Hearing Healthcare will take the time necessary to fully understand your concerns and answer questions you may have, so that you are provided with everything you need to make an informed personal decision.
Hearing Aid Fitting
Like having an outfit custom-tailored for you, the right fit makes all the difference. Hearing aid fitting is critical to your success wearing and using hearing aids. You can depend on Lifesounds Hearing Healthcare to provide you with the best professional services and hearing aid fittings in the area. Hearing aids work best when they are custom-fit to your ears and programmed for your hearing needs based on the results of your hearing test, your individual preferences, and the unique listening environments that are important to you in your daily life. We can fine-tune your hearing aids to help you hear in a variety of sound environments such as noisy restaurants, church, groups of people, work, or other difficult listening situations. Hearing is very subjective; so friends that may have the same degree of hearing loss as you may prefer to have their hearing aids programmed quite differently - everyone is unique and therefore has unique and highly individualized hearing needs.
Getting Used to Your Hearing Aids and the Secret to Achieving Best Results
Most people develop a hearing loss over several years. Consequently, regaining your hearing ability with the use of hearing aids will not happen overnight. Becoming reacquainted with sounds and clarity of speech takes practice and time. Everyone has a unique journey through this process. Some folks take only a few days to get used to wearing hearing aids, but for most it can take a few weeks to a few months to acclimate. The key here is patience with yourself and patience with the process. Lifesounds Hearing Healthcare is here to help you every step of the way. Therefore, it is critical that you follow wearing time guidelines set up by your hearing aid professional and be sure to attend all follow-up visits. Since today’s hearing aids are highly programmable, small adjustments can make a big difference in how you are hearing. Not only must the physical fit be comfortable, but the loudness of sound and clarity of speech must be satisfactory and if it isn’t, come back for an office visit so that we can provide alterations to achieve a comfortable fit for you.
In order to assist you in getting used to wearing your hearing aids, we ask that you do the following:
- Wear the aids as much as possible - the more you wear them, the faster you will get used to them and the easier it is for you to explain to us what adjustments may be needed.
- Write down situations that are still giving you some hearing difficulties - in this way, we can be better informed as to how the hearing aids need to be reprogrammed to improve those particular sound situations for you.
- Have patience with yourself and with the process - in general it takes wearing time and a few office visits to get everything “tuned in” so that you are hearing to the best of your ability!
Hearing Aid Repair
Are You a Hearing Aid User and Experiencing Trouble with Your Device? We Can Help!
Hearing aids are designed to be worn everyday and help us to communicate with the world around us. On occasion, however, they may require service beyond the regular cleaning and maintenance they receive from you. Hearing aids are sensitive electronic devices that are working hard, day in and day out, to provide you with excellent hearing assistance. Because of this, the hearing aids get exposed to earwax and oil, moisture, dust, and debris, even though you are trying your hardest to keep them dry, clean, and in working order.
Sometimes a good professional cleaning is all it requires, but if there is a problem that needs repairing, Lifesounds Hearing Healthcare is the place to go to for help. We service all major brands and manufacturers. Oftentimes, simple repairs can be done right in the office, but if more extensive repair is required, we will get it fixed with as little delay as possible and back in your ears quickly to get you hearing better again. We are here to help you hear better and enjoy life to the fullest!
Custom Hearing Protection
Custom Hearing Protection is Available to Protect Against Dangerous Noise Levels
Today we live in a very noisy world. Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the major causes of hearing loss but it can be prevented with the proper use of hearing protection. Long-term exposure to heavy machinery, loud music over time, or a single gunshot blast are examples of noise-induced hearing loss. Generic earplugs can help noise levels, but the best protection is to wear custom earmolds which are molded to specifically fit your ear shape. These types of solid earmolds are designed to be comfortable while protecting against high noise level activities over longer time periods. We also provide custom hunter’s molds, sleep molds, swim molds, musician’s ear molds, and speciality molds for communication in such professions as pilots, police officers, race car drivers, etc. Lifesounds Hearing Healthcare can help fit you with a comfortable, customized earmold solution for any of your needs.
Assistive Listening Devices
Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) Help Amplify Sounds, Allowing You to Hear More Clearly in Difficult Listening Environments like Large Groups, Theaters, Conferences, Schools, and Even TV
These devices are sometimes used in addition and in conjunction with the hearing aids via telecoils, or used independently of hearing aids. Such devices are designed to improve and enhance the “speech to noise ratio,” which effectively separates the sounds you want and need to hear from the background noise. This separation allows for an improved listening experience.
Find Us
8617 West Point Douglas Road S.,Suite 150
Cottage Grove, MN 55016
Call Us
1-833-HEARITE
1-833-432-7483
Visit Us
M – TH: 10am – 5pm
Friday: 10am - 4pm
*By special appointment