Annual Health Assessment: Hearing screening goes digital
"The sooner you treat hearing loss, the better it is for you and your quality of life."
The Annual Health Assessment gives you a complete picture of your current health. It also helps identify risks you may face in the future, so you can proactively manage your health. As assessment technology improves, so does the accuracy of health and wellness indicators we provide clients.
Hearing: screening in the palm of your hand
The audiometric test, a component of the Annual Health Assessment, assesses hearing ability and identifies potential issues. Sound booth, no more. Clients now use a handheld device and calibrated headphones to provide our clinicians with more accurate measures of hearing ability.
What is the new technology?
It’s the first clinically-validated portable iPad audiometer that provides diagnostic threshold accuracy and power in a handheld mobile device. This new technology improves the screening experience with:
- Automated screening protocol that prevents test administration error
- Smart ambient noise monitoring eliminates false positives and user error
- Users follow an interactive the easy-to-use interface at their own pace (it’s like a video game)
Should your screening results indicate a need for further assessment, a Medcan physician will refer you to our on-site audiologist.
Untreated hearing loss: how it impacts your life
“Improving one’s hearing is a game changer — innovations in technology make it easier than ever,” says Miriam Kolacevic, the audiologist at Medcan. “Once treatable hearing loss has been addressed, you will hear better immediately, with improvements in quality of life found within three months.”
Relationships. All too often spouses blame “selective attention” when really a hearing problem has begun to chip away at their ability to communicate. Hearing aids users report improvement in their relationships including their love lives, self esteem, and life overall.
Work. Most jobs rely heavily on strong communication skills. With hearing loss, communication can suffer and negatively impact your perceived or actual work performance. According to a U.S. study by the Better Hearing Institute (BHI), individuals with untreated hearing loss can lose as much as $30,000 USD in annual income. The BHI study showed that the use of hearing aids can reduce the risk of income loss by 90% to 100% for those with milder hearing loss, and from 65% to 77% for those with severe to moderate hearing loss.
Physical Health. Johns Hopkins Medicine highlights the hidden risks of hearing loss, such as its association with walking problems, falls and even dementia. Older adults with hearing loss are more likely than peers with normal hearing to require hospitalization and suffer periods of inactivity.
Mental Health. The National Council on the Aging debunks the myth that “hearing loss in older persons is a harmless condition.” The survey of 2,300 hearing impaired adults found they were more likely to report depression, anxiety, and paranoia.
“Once treated, hearing aid users report feeling better,” says Kolacevic. “A Columbia University medical study found these individuals reported improved overall physical health, have less anxiety, participate more and perform better on cognitive tests. The sooner you treat hearing loss, the better it is for you and your quality of life.”
