Hearing Test – What’s the Process Anyways?

There are 5 basic steps we take at Union Hearing Aid Centre to ensure thorough and accurate results.

General Information and Inquiry

Once you’ve arrived for your hearing test, you’ll be asked by our professional front-desk staff to fill out specific forms that pertain to your personal health, medical history, and insurance. At the beginning of your exam you will review these documents with your audiologist, who will discuss with you the personal information provided. You will be asked specific questions to determine the environment in which you’re experiencing hearing trouble.

Inside Look

Your audiologist will generally use an otoscope to look inside your ears. This instrument is specifically designed to examine the ear canal and ear drum, checking to see whether or not there is ear wax blocking the canal. Our highly advanced video otoscope, allows our patients to view the inside of their ear as well.

Hearing Test

The first test that is performed is the pure tone hearing test. This test is carried out in a quiet, soundproof area for optimal conditions. A pair of headphones that are connected to an audiometer will be placed over your ears by your audiologist. The audiometer communicates a number of continuous tones into your ears, all at varying volumes to locate the exact point at which you’re able to hear different sound frequencies. You’ll be asked to say yes or raise a hand when you can in fact hear a sound.

Speech Test

Speech testing will follow, and this involves listening to a variety of one and two syllable words at different volumes and repeating them back. This process will reveal the level in which you can identify and understand speech. You may also be given a speech in noise test to determine how easy it is for you to hear conversation in a loud environment.

Results

All tests results are recorded on an audiogram that will be reviewed with your audiologist. The audiogram reveals your level of hearing loss in frequencies and decibels. With these results, you’ll be provided with the pattern, type, and level of hearing loss. You’ll also be notified as to what percentage of regular, conversational speech that you can successfully hear. These results combined with your level of concern, will determine whether or not the next step will follow; considering all treatment solutions available to you, and those that would be effective for your unique conditions.