Hearing Tests

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Why You Need a Hearing Test & the Process

The effects of hearing loss can be minimized if:

  • Your problem is correctly diagnosed
  • You receive the right type of treatment
  • You and your hearing care team are committed to solving the problem

 

Step One: The Interview

Purpose: To help us determine the extent of your problem and uncover any specific areas that may require further attention.

Some Typical Questions:

  • Has anyone else in your family had hearing difficulty?
  • Have you had any illnesses or injuries that might have affected your hearing?
  • Have you taken any medications that might have affected your hearing?
  • Have you been exposed to loud noises in your job or leisure activities?

 

Step Two: The Examination

Purpose: To determine whether your hearing concerns could be caused by an obstruction or damage to the ear canal or ear drum. Our audiologists will use an otoscope to inspect the outer ear and ear canal.

 

Step Three: The Testing

Purpose: To help the audiologist determine the nature of your hearing loss. Your audiologist may include tests like the following depending on your needs.

  • Audiometric pure tone evaluation to measure your hearing at different frequencies.
  • Speech evaluation to measure how well you hear and understand ordinary conversation at different volumes.
  • Immittance middle ear evaluation to measure how your ear drum reacts to varying degrees of air pressure.

If you have a hearing loss, Your results will be documented on an audiogram.

 

Step Four: Treatment Options

Hearing Aids

Hearing aids come in a variety of styles and a range of features to address your specific needs. Our audiologists determine which style of hearing aid best suits your degree and type of hearing loss, dexterity concerns, and budget.

Surgery & Implants

Some dead of profoundly hearing-impaired people who cannot benefit from traditional hearing aids may need surgically implanted devices to improve their hearing. Through our physicians do not perform these surgeries, these implants are important to consider when choosing the best hearing option for our patients.

A few examples of surgical implants:

  • Cochlear Implants
  • Middle Ear Implants
  • Bone-Anchored Hearing Systems
  • Auditory Brainstem Implants