Hearing Testing
Hearing tests are essential diagnostic tools for evaluating your hearing health and detecting any potential issues. They are performed by trained audiologists and can provide a detailed understanding of your hearing capabilities. If you've scheduled your first hearing test, it's natural to be a bit anxious or curious about the process. To help ease your concerns, this blog post will outline what you can expect during a hearing test.
What to expect
Before: Getting to know you
Did you know the ears are the most sensitive organs in our body to oxygen and blood flow changes? Prior to your appointment, you will complete a comprehensive case history electronically so we can help you understand the likely cause of your current problems.
During: Gathering data about your hearing
A typical hearing test consists of several components designed to evaluate different aspects of your hearing:
Otoscopy: The audiologist will start by examining your ears with an otoscope, which allows them to check for any visible issues such as wax buildup, inflammation, or infection.
Pure-Tone Audiometry: This test measures your hearing sensitivity to different frequencies and volumes. You'll wear headphones and listen to a series of tones. Whenever you hear a sound, you'll indicate it to the audiologist, who will record your responses.
Speech Audiometry: This assessment evaluates your ability to understand speech at various volumes and clarity levels. You'll listen to spoken words or phrases through headphones and repeat them back to the audiologist.
Tympanometry: This test measures the mobility of your eardrum and middle ear function. The audiologist will place a small probe in your ear canal that generates air pressure and sounds. Your ear's response to these stimuli will be recorded.
After: Finally test results you can understand!
Have you ever left a doctor’s appointment with a prescription in hand but not totally sure what was going on? At The Audiology METHOD, we take the extra time to educate you on how your ears work and what we are looking for in testing. By doing this, you understand why we are doing certain tests and when we go over the results, they actually make sense to you! If our audiologist recommends hearing aids, they'll help you select the right model based on your lifestyle, hearing loss, budget and preferences.
