Patch Gets Its Hearing Checked - Literally

Oak Creek hearing care provider Selective Hearing Centers opened its doors at 7820 S. Howell Ave. last month, and per owner Jeff Johnston's invitation, I checked out some of these services firsthand and experienced a typical hearing screening.

What I found was all-around impressive.

First off, Johnston took a look in my ears. His set-up even allowed me to see what he was seeing via a computer monitor. He found nothing much of note – just that my right ear needed a good cleaning.

The next step involved sitting in a soundproof booth with earphones on as Johnston ran a battery of tests designed to evaluate my level of hearing. Could I hear particular tones and at what volume? Could I recognize and re-voice particular words when played in one ear or another at different volumes?  

According to Johnston, the screening typically takes around a half hour. However, I was not subjected to the final volume-comfort test because, conveniently enough, my results up to that point indicated that I have normal hearing.

Post-screening, I got a chance to see how my results translated into empirical data. On a graph displaying hearing levels at both high and low frequencies, I was shown that I am pretty much where I need to be as a mid-20s adult male. However, even though my hearing is normal, that doesn't mean that other younger adults aren't at risk.

"It's an increasingly noisy world," says Johnston, a hearing care professional of 12 years. "A majority of people with hearing loss are under 65, with 6 million of those between the ages of 18 and 44 in the United States alone."

No matter what age, if you're concerned about potential hearing loss, you should be screened right away. "If you do have a hearing loss, getting the proper hearing aid could potentially halt further loss in addition to just helping you hear better," according to Johnston.

In the near future, Johnston hopes to increase awareness about hearing loss among all age groups around the community. He also plans to expand his business by adding a Racine location in 2013.