Is it best to come to a hearing evaluation alone or should you bring someone with you?

It is always in your best interest to bring someone with you. It is really nice to have a spouse, relative, or power of attorney come with the patient as an observing party. For the very elderly, I always request that they bring someone with them. I prefer that the accompanying person wait in the waiting area during the hearing evaluation, and then I include them as a part of the hearing aid consultation.

Once the evaluation is complete and it shows that the patient needs hearing aids, we will have a discussion. I try to keep the consultation area quiet, so the person with the hearing loss has the best chance possible to understand what I have to tell them. I want the patient and the observing party to fully understand the type of hearing loss and what kind of hearing aid is recommended. If they have a severe hearing loss, I will loan the patient a pocket talker so they can hear me well during the consultation.

This is when I really appreciate the observing party. The observing party can help the patient make decisions. The observing party can help the patient stay within budget, and gives the patient someone they trust to help them remember what hearing aid has been decided upon.

I have had some very interesting observing parties over the years. I have had patients bring their whole family to the evaluation, like it is some kind of party. Some observers have been very disruptive, talking loudly on their cell phones or bringing noisy children with them. It is best to leave small children at home.

The fewer people you bring into the office, the better. I prefer that the patient just bring one person. More than two or three people can be distracting to the person with the hearing impairment because they already have trouble hearing and sorting voices.

We have all heard horror stories about seniors being taken advantage of because they tried to purchase something on their own. You would not want that to happen to you, so bring someone with you that you trust whenever there is a substantial amount of money involved in a transaction, no matter what it is. If your gut tells you that something seems not quite right at any consultation, please leave and go somewhere else.

Dr. Tia Flynn is a certified audiologist and has been in business for over 14 years. Every Tuesday morning from 9 a.m. to noon, Dr. Flynn provides free hearing screenings at 1601 Third St. in Coeur d'Alene. (208) 664-2767. Visit www.affordablehearinginc.com for a free copy of the consumers guide to hearing aids and watch helpful videos.