Medical history for hearing loss

If you report symptoms of hearing loss or your doctor finds that you have some hearing loss, he or she may ask a number of questions.

Questions about symptoms

• When did you first notice your hearing loss?
• Was your hearing loss sudden, or do you feel it has slowly been getting worse?
• Do you notice your hearing loss in one or both ears?
• Have you noticed ringing in your ears, a "fullness" in your ear, dizziness, fluid draining from your ear, or ear pain?
• Have you ever had to strain to hear?
• Have you had symptoms of a cold or the flu recently?

Questions about your family and lifestyle

• Do others in your family have hearing loss?
• What is your job? How noisy is your workplace? Is there machine noise?
• What do you do in your spare time? Are you around loud noises, such as found in motorcycling or snowmobiling?
• Do you listen to loud music?
• Do you routinely use snowblowers, gas lawn mowers, leaf blowers, or power tools?
• Have you traveled on an airplane or been scuba diving recently?

Questions about health and medicine

• Have you had ear infections or an ear injury in the past?
• Have you ever had a stroke or a heart attack? Do you have diabetes?
• What medicines are you now taking? Aspirin? Water pills (diuretics)?
• Have you ever taken antibiotics directly in a vein (intravenous)?
• Have you ever had chemotherapy?