What to Expect During Your Hearing Test

So, you have booked a hearing test with your audiologist? Well, good for you – as we all know. Looking after your ears and hearing is just as important as looking after the health your body, eyes, and teeth. However, do you know what to expect once you arrive?

Whether it is your very first time with an audiologist or you are helping a friend with their visit for a hearing test, it can be useful to know exactly what is going to happen. With this in mind, here are a few of the things that you can expect from a hearing test.

Introductions

The first time you step into your local audiologist, you will check in with the reception area – just as you would for a typical doctor’s appointment. Then it’s just a case of waiting for the appointment time, and with a little luck, your audiologist or their assistant will come out of their office and greet you.

Discuss your medical history

Your audiologist will talk through your medical history, asking questions on your current medications and all those types of things. Don’t hold back – it is vital you are accurate and honest at this stage. Many health problems can impact your hearing, so it’s vital for your audiologist to understand the big picture.

Perform a physical exam

You will receive a physical examination in the vast majority of cases. Your audiologist will use an otoscope to look into your ear and check for blockages, wax build ups, or for the presence of polyps. Don’t panic! This is entirely painless, and nothing to worry about at all.

Perform the hearing test

There are many different types of hearing tests. Your audiologist will test your hearing in a  variety of different ways, with the results of each test being used to build up a complete picture of your hearing. Using all these tests also helps them to drill down into the root causes of your hearing problems, and localize the issue to a specific area. Next, let’s take a look at the types of hearing test you can expect.

Pure-tone audiometry hearing test

This test involves the audiologist playing a range of different noises with varying pitches and volumes. You will be asked to press a button when you hear a sound, which helps the audiologist identify the areas and frequencies of your hearing that might be an issue.

Bone conduction hearing test

This test might sound scary, but it’s completely painless. Here, the audiologist will put a vibrating probe next to your skull, usually behind the ear. The vibrations will be conducted through your bone, and the audiologist will determine whether it is being detected by your inner ear.

Tympanometry

Here, a plug is gently placed in your ear, and a machine applies a gentle pressure to the ear canal. It will help the audiologist find out if your middle ear is suffering from something like fluid problems.

Speech recognition

This simple test is simply used to determine your ability to distinguish speech without the presence of visual cues.

Tuning fork hearing test

Finally, the tuning fork test can help the audiologist determine if you have hearing problems in the mechanical side of your hearing, or if it is nerve-related.

And that’s it – your hearing test will be over. All the procedures are painless, and then it’s just a case of waiting for your diagnosis, which could be immediate but may require a closer look. Good luck!