Hearing Test
If your hearing has changed in recent years, it is time to make an appointment with us
A hearing test maps the auditory system and identifies any possible hearing disorders you may have. It's comprehensive and painless and the first step in your road towards better hearing health.
Untreated hearing loss takes a heavy toll on you. Communication and understanding limitations contribute to increased depression, loneliness, and anxiety in untreated hearing problems. Most hearing losses get worse over time, so it's never helpful to postpone your hearing.
Our hearing examinations include four steps, each of which contributes to a detailed understanding of how you hear. Here's what to expect once you have made your appointment:
A Consultation
An inquiry into your hearing issues, medical history, and factors that could place you at risk for hearing loss is the first stage of a hearing test. We will ask you about any difficulties you have encountered with your hearing, as well as your family's hearing loss background.
Questions regarding lifestyle factors, such as your potential exposure to excessive noise, will also be posted. Any past medical conditions and even some drugs may lead to hearing loss, so it is also necessary to disclose some aspects of your medical history to rule out all potential causes. Providing a full, reliable hearing history is essential for determining the cause of hearing difficulties and can also help to pick the appropriate care and recovery options.
Ear Examination
Once your case history has been formed, we will conduct an external ear physical examination using an otoscope. This is a medical device with a cone-shaped head that provides a back-lit and enlarged view of your ear canal. Otoscopes can detect inflammation and obstruction, punctures, or other problems in your ear.
By conducting a hearing examination, we are looking for hearing issues in the outer ear. An integrated treatment plan may be established if problems are also detected in both the outer and inner ear.
Hearing Evaluation
The third step of your hearing checks your hearing abilities and produces an audiogram, a graph showing your hearing abilities. For the tests, you will put on a set of headphones and sit in a soundproof room.
- During a pure-tone test, we will assess your ability to hear sounds at varying frequencies and volumes.
- A speech assessment test will also be conducted to test your everyday speech awareness at various volume levels to assess how you hear.
- The function of the middle ear might also be checked with an immittance test. This assesses whether an infection is impeding the eardrum movement.
Plan of Care
If a hearing loss or an auditory system disorder is identified, the last step in our hearing test is to review your audiogram and establish a treatment plan.
Some hearing issues are temporary, such as viruses and obstructions, and can easily be handled. Damage occurring in the inner ear, however, is always permanent but can be treated with hearing aids. Modern hearing aids are discreet and provide several features to enable you to understand others better, even in noise. If hearing aids are recommended for you, we can help you find the device that suits your hearing loss needs, budget, and lifestyle.