Hearing Test & Hearing Exam

Intake Process

Similar to most medical appointments, hearing tests start with an intake process. This includes completing paperwork and sharing more about your health history. We’ll ask you about the symptoms you’ve been experiencing, any family history of hearing challenges, any medications you’re taking, etc. You can also expect to talk about a few lifestyle factors that can impact hearing health. This includes what you do for work, hobbies, exercise, social engagement, and more. Learning more about your lifestyle can help us identify any potential contributors to the symptoms you are experiencing as well as identify treatment options that would integrate into your everyday life. We need to take the time to understand your health and what you’re experiencing so that we can effectively diagnose underlying hearing loss.

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Ear Exam

The next step is to physically examine your ears with an otoscope. An otoscope is a medical instrument designed to enter and shine a light into the ear, allowing us to take a look at your ear canal and eardrum. This allows us to fully examine your ears and check for any potential sources affecting hearing. Examples include any growths, ear infections, accumulated earwax, and a ruptured eardrum. These factors can prevent sound waves from being fully absorbed and traveling through the ear canal to reach the inner ear. This is known as conductive hearing loss which is typically temporary and resolvable with simple medical interventions. If needed, we will remove any excess earwax that can impair your ability to hear clearly before moving on to the actual hearing test.

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Hearing Test

There are a few tests that can be used to identify hearing loss. Two of the most common tests are pure tone and speech audiometry. Pure tone audiometry testing involves wearing headphones in a soundproof space (room or booth) that are connected to an audiometer - a machine that will play sounds at different volumes and frequencies. Guided by one of our specialists, you will be asked to indicate what you can hear by either raising your hand or pressing a button. This identifies the softest sounds you can hear and the types of sounds that may be more challenging. Speech audiometry testing works in a very similar way but rather than tones or sounds being played, you will hear speech at different volumes. This is especially useful because it identifies the types of speech you may struggle hearing which will help us understand the hearing challenges you may experience specifically during conversations. Your results will be captured in real-time and shared with you after the tests are completed.

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Results

The results from your hearing test will be captured and presented to you on what's called an audiogram. An audiogram is a visual chart that shows your hearing capacities in both ears. This will show your hearing thresholds - the quietest sounds and speech you can hear. We will walk you through the specifics of your hearing loss - the degree of impairment and the volumes as well as types of speech and sounds that are more difficult for you to hear. We will also discuss treatment options that can best address these challenges.

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Follow-Up

Your follow-up appointment will be a hearing aid fitting. During this appointment, you will receive your hearing aid which will be programmed with settings to meet your specific hearing needs. You will learn everything about your hearing aid - instructions, maintenance protocols, how to manage settings, etc.

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What to Expect at a Hearing Test

Intake Process

Ear Exam

Hearing Test

Results

Follow-Up