A surprising number of people put off getting help simply because they do not know what they are walking into. So here is the whole thing, start to finish.

Before you arrive

Bring any previous hearing test results, a list of your current medications, and if you have one, a referral or letter from your GP. None of these are mandatory. You can book without a referral and without a diagnosis.

Bring someone if you would like to. A partner or family member often notices things you have stopped noticing, and it helps them understand what you are dealing with.

The history

We start by listening, and this takes longer than people expect. When it started, what it sounds like, whether it is constant or comes in waves, what makes it worse, what you have already tried.

We also ask about noise exposure across your whole life, general health, sleep, stress and medications. Tinnitus rarely has one clean cause and the history is where the pattern usually shows up.

The testing

Diagnostic hearing assessment. A full audiogram across the frequency range, not the quick screen you get at a chemist. If you can reach our Sunshine Coast clinic we do this at the same appointment. If you are elsewhere, we arrange it with a clinic closer to you and work from those results.Sound tolerance testing. Many people with tinnitus also have some degree of hyperacusis, where ordinary sounds feel uncomfortably loud. It changes the treatment plan, so we screen for it.Validated severity questionnaires. Usually the Tinnitus Functional Index. This is the number we track at every review, so improvement is measured rather than remembered.

The conversation

Then we explain what we found, in plain English, including what is driving your tinnitus and what the realistic options are. If something treatable turns up, we say so and refer you. If your hearing is normal, that is useful information rather than a dead end.

You leave with a written plan covering what we recommend and why, whether or not you decide to go ahead.

What it is not

It is not a five minute hearing screen at the back of a shop. It is not a sales appointment for a device. And it is not a session where you are told your results are normal so there is nothing to be done.

The appointment runs around 90 minutes. Most people say the biggest thing they take away is not the test results, it is finally understanding what is happening and why.