Do you suspect you have a hearing loss? How can you be sure? Hearing loss can affect anyone and often progresses so gradually, it can be difficult to notice until you experience symptoms. Hearing loss has far-reaching effects on your health, so getting a baseline hearing test and annual follow-up tests can help you catch it early. Hearing tests are easy and painless. The purpose of a test for hearing loss is to determine not only if you have a hearing loss, but how mild or severe it is. A thorough hearing test can also help define the type of hearing loss you have: conductive, sensorineural, or mixed and whether it will respond best to medical treatment or hearing aids.

​Your hearing test will produce an audiogram that will help you and your hearing care professional pick the best hearing aid style for you. The degree of your hearing loss will determine which styles may work best for you, with smaller models generally suited for milder hearing loss. If you've never worn hearing aids before, this primer on types and styles of hearing aids may be useful.