During the hearing test, you will sit in a sound-treated booth to make sure there are no background noises that could impact the hearing test. We’ll ask you to wear a pair of headphones, and play a series of soft and loud sounds at a variety of pitches to find out what you can and can’t hear. All you need to do is indicate when you’ve heard a sound.
There are several tests we may perform during your evaluation.
A standard test will include:
- Pure tone test: In this test, you’ll hear single tones at a number of different pitches and volumes. We’ll ask you to stay focused, and let us know whenever you hear a tone. With this test, we’ll find out whether or not you have hearing loss and how severe the loss is.
- Speech tests: During this test you will hear a word and be asked to repeat what you heard. This helps to determine your speech reception threshold (the softest level you can hear a word) and your speech discrimination score (your ability to understand speech).
- Bone conduction test: This test helps to classify that type of hearing loss you have. A conductive hearing loss generally indicates a problem with the outer or middle ear, while a sensorineural hearing loss suggests a problem with the inner ear. Different recommendations will be made based on the type of hearing loss you have.
A comprehensive test will include the above, as well as the below optional tests:
- Speech-in-Noise (SIN) test: This test helps us understand how well you hear and process speech when background noise is present. Many people hear sounds clearly in quiet settings but struggle in real-world environments like restaurants or group conversations. Knowing how you hear speech in noise helps guide treatment recommendations, such as whether hearing aids alone are sufficient or if an additional accessory could be beneficial.
- Cognitive screening: This screening provides information about how certain aspects of brain function are working. Hearing and brain function are closely connected, and changes in cognitive performance alongside hearing difficulties can be an important indicator that treatment may be helpful. Even when hearing loss is not present, this information can be valuable for both our audiologists and your primary care providers, who can also access your results to support your overall care.