A hearing test is the first step towards better hearing. At Hearing Associates Inc., we offer complete hearing evaluations. These evaluations will include a visual exam of the ear and review of your medical and hearing health history. We’ll also ask you some questions about your lifestyle and hearing needs, and then we will test your hearing. This is what you can expect during the hearing test.
Hearing Tests
A hearing test is a non-invasive test that will show you what sounds you can hear and what sounds you’re missing. For the most accurate results, we always test your hearing in a controlled environment. Our testing room is very quiet, so you won’t be distracted by other sounds. We will ask you to wear a pair of headphones, and all you have to do is listen to the sounds and indicate when you have heard a sound. During the test we’ll determine your hearing ability by testing how well you can hear tones and how well you can hear speech.
Pure Tone Test
The first part of the hearing test is a tone test. You will hear tones in one or both ears at varying pitches and volume levels. It’s very common to have more hearing loss for high pitched sounds, so you may not hear all the tones. That’s completely normal! The test is designed to find out at exactly what pitch you can no longer hear a sound.
Speech Test
The second part of the test is a speech test. During this test you’ll hear speech sounds, and we’ll ask you to repeat the word or speech sound that you hear. This test will also include low and high sounds, and we’ll play the speech sounds at more than one volume. This test will show exactly what speech sounds you have a hard time hearing.
Testing in Noise
Our tests may also include testing in noise. Do you have an easy time hearing when it’s quiet, but struggle to follow conversations in places with a lot of background noise? For this test we’ll play background noise, and ask you to listen for tones or speech sounds. This helps us find out more about your unique hearing loss. We’ll see which listening situations are difficult for you, and we can suggest the right hearing aids to match your hearing needs.
Reviewing Your Results
After the hearing test, your results will be shown on an audiogram. This is your personal hearing profile. It shows exactly what sounds you can hear, and what sounds you can’t hear. The audiogram is a graph that shows you the softest sound you can hear at different pitches. You may have hearing loss that only affects the higher pitches, or you may have some hearing loss across all pitches.
Your audiogram will also show the results for each ear. Most people have some differences in hearing abilities in each ear. For example, you may be able to hear a few more sounds with your right ear than your left ear.
The audiogram tells you everything you need to know about your hearing loss. You can see what sounds you are missing, and find out what kind of hearing aids you should get to match this need. We also use the audiogram to adjust your hearing aids and help you hear clearly.
Choosing Hearing Aids
Choosing Hearing AidsIf a hearing loss is detected from your audiogram, we will help you learn more about your treatment options. Typically, hearing loss is treated with hearing aids. We’ll recommend a number of hearing aid options based on your specific hearing needs. We offer state-of-the-art hearing devices with excellent technological features. These devices will be calibrated and programmed to address your individual hearing requirements.