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Hearing Testing

Hearing testing is important to determine if a hearing impairment exists. Audiologists are professionals trained in the evaluation of the auditory system.

Prior to a hearing test, the audiologist will first examine your ears with an otoscope, looking for any visible conditions which may warrant a medical referral.

The audiometric evaluation may consist of several tasks:

• Finding the softest level at which you can recognize words and tones
• Determining how well you can understand speech in quiet and noise

Additional testing may include:

• Tympanometry, which evaluates how well your eardrums move in response to pressure changes and can give us information about the status of your middle ear
• Otoacoustic emissions, which are sounds that are produced by healthy ears in response to acoustic stimuli and whose presence or absence can give us information about the status of sensory cells in your cochlea

The results of the hearing test are reported on an audiogram.