Medical History

The hearing evaluation is an important part of the process of determining any potential hearing loss or other auditory issues. This evaluation typically starts with a brief discussion between the patient and the hearing care professional to determine what concerns the patient has with their hearing or auditory system. During this discussion, the hearing care professional may ask further questions that can help provide more detail to the assessment or help determine the causes of any potential conditions. After this initial discussion, the hearing care professional will usually perform a series of tests to assess the patient’s hearing. 

Otoscopy

An otoscopic examination is an important assessment tool used to check the health of the outer ear. It is typically conducted with the use of a device called an otoscope, which is a handheld instrument which emits a bright light and magnifying lens to allow for a visual inspection of the outer ear and tympanic membrane (eardrum).

Tympanometry and Reflexes Test

Tympanometry is diagnostic tool that’s used for the assessment of the middle ear function. It is an objective test to diagnose and monitor various middle ear disorders and can help in the management of these conditions. Tympanometry can also be used to diagnose diseases of the middle ear such as otitis media, otosclerosis, and cholesteatoma. It provides vital informaion to assess the functioning of the Eustachian tube and middle ear ventilation. 

Pure Tone Audiometry

Pure-tone audiometry is a painless and non-invasive test used to measure hearing thresholds of an individual in order to determine the type of hearing loss. This test uses a series of tones or beeps at different frequencies and volumes to determine how well a person can hear. Depending on the results of the test, hearing loss can be classified as conductive (temporary), sensorineural (permanent), or mixed (a combination of both). The tones can be either beeps or warbles and will be presented at various levels of loudness to determine the softest sound you can detect. During the test, you will be asked to identify when you can hear the sound and when you can’t. Once the test is complete, the results will be interpreted by your hearing care professional to determine the type and severity of your hearing loss. The results of the pure-tone audiometry test will help your hearing care professional to provide the best treatment plan for you to manage your hearing loss

Speech Audiometry 

Speech audiometry is a widely used and extremely important method of hearing evaluation. It is a measure of an individual’s ability to understand speech at various levels of presentation. Speech audiometry can help to diagnose auditory processing disorders, it can also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of hearing aids, as well as to determine the best type of hearing aid for a patient based on their hearing loss.