Hearing loss is not always treated with hearing aids. Many kinds of hearing loss can be better treated with medication or surgery. The physician-owners at Richmond Hearing Aids are specialists in diagnosing and treating hearing loss. After a thorough examination for medically or surgically correctable ear disease, we will evaluate the ear with a pure tone test where the patient responds to a tone presented in the ear. Next, we do a speech discrimination test to test the patient’s ability to understand what they’re hearing. Hearing loss is not always treated with hearing aids. Many kinds of hearing loss can be better treated with medication or surgery. The physician-owners at Richmond Hearing Aids are specialists in diagnosing and treating hearing loss. After a thorough examination for medically or surgically correctable ear disease, we will evaluate the ear with a pure tone test where the patient responds to a tone presented in the ear. Next, we do a speech discrimination test to test the patient’s ability to understand what they’re hearing. Many patients might be concerned that the type of hearing aid we’re recommending is very visible but it’s not. The color that we choose, the way it contours to the ear and the translucency of the tubing that we use makes it virtually invisible. I like to tell every patient that hearing loss is more noticeable than a hearing aid. Most patients take 30- 45 days to completely acclimate themselves to the instrument. During the 45 days after the initial fitting we’ll probably see each patient 2-3 times during that time period. We’ll do a physical evaluations to make sure the instruments are comfortable and computer adjustments to make sure the sound quality and volume are meeting the patient’s needs. Part of the assessment test would involve the patient actually realizing they have a hearing loss. Usually family members know long before the patient does that loss is there and how invasive it is. Working with the physicians at Richmond ENT, we help bridge that gap between the family and the patient and make that process easy and as comfortable for the patient as we can.