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… Pull out your smartphone! They do just about everything these days, including being able to help you screen your own hearing. If you are not sure if you have a hearing loss a free app on your phone may help prove (or disprove) a potential hearing loss. A hearing screening app can do a basic hearing screening which may help to give you an approximation of your hearing abilities.

Just like an eye chart can help determine if your vision is not up to snuff, a hearing screening using something like your smartphone can help you do the same for your hearing.

Now for the BUT, as always…

A hearing screening you do on your phone is not the same as one done by a professional using calibrated audiometry equipment.  Something you do on your phone, or a screening done at a kiosk, is only part of the picture so it shouldn’t be viewed as the ultimate solution in determining whether you have a hearing loss and what the cause might be.

A hearing screening done on your phone also shouldn’t be used to program any hearing aid. In addition, a hearing professional is able to identify possible physical or neurological problems which may be treatable by a doctor – something which our phones (at this time) cannot do!

So, the moral of this story is a hearing screening done on your phone can help point you in the right direction (or help silence a family member if you pass with flying colors) but be sure not to hold the results in high regard or allow it to take the place of a visit to your hearing professional.