If you’re concerned about your hearing or simply looking for a checkup, an audiologist can get to the bottom of your hearing health and provide a full range of tests to give you the most accurate diagnosis possible. But if you’ve never been to one before, how do you find the right fit for you? Here, we’re going to look at three methods of finding an audiologist near that you can trust.

Asking those you know

Hearing loss is extremely common, affecting approximately 20 percent of all Americans. For that reason, there’s a good chance you already know someone who has plenty of experience with audiologists. Your family and friends’ experiences might be subjective, but asking them might be the perfect way to get the information that is most relevant to the patient experience. Ask them about pricing, about convenience and accessibility and general bedside manner. What’s more, if you do find the audiologist you want to visit, they can help you get a good understanding of what a hearing test will entail and what you can expect from the full process. Other sources of information can be very helpful, but they might not capture the “user experience” quite as well as asking those you know.

The internet

If you don’t know anyone who has experience with an audiologist or you just want to make sure that you’re getting information on the possible options around you, then the internet can be a fantastic resource to help you find them. For one, you can gauge an audiologist by their website. If they have taken care to make it look professional and to offer lots of helpful information, you know for a fact that they are concerned about the patient experience, not just getting customers. Furthermore, there are plenty of online reviews that can help you collect opinions and experiences from other patients. When you search for audiologists using search engines like Google, you are automatically shown results most appropriate for you via location, but you can search using the town you’re in to make sure you’re not missing any.

Your primary healthcare provider

There are few people as well plugged into the medical industry as other members of it, of course. Your primary care provider or family doctor will very likely have dealt with other patients that have seen audiologists before if they haven’t worked with them directly. If you have a trusting relationship with your doctor, then you could be recommended to an audiologist just as trustworthy. It’s also worth calling up your insurance provider, to see what hearing care options they cover and if any of the audiologists in your area are preferred by their plan, which could save you some money.

Once you’ve found the audiologist for you, get in touch and make sure they’re the perfect fit. Most audiologists are more than happy to answer about services they offer, pricing options, hours of operation, location and more. Make sure that you get your hearing health journey off to the best possible start.