What is involved in a hearing test?
The only way to determine the condition and level of your hearing is by having an audiological evaluation, or a hearing test. During the test, a variety of speech sounds and tones are presented at different levels under headphones. The results are plotted on a graph called an audiogram. The test is noninvasive, painless and usually can be performed in under an hour. After the test, your audiogram will be explained, and any questions you have will be discussed. For infants or people with special needs, there are tests available to check hearing that do not require the ability to follow directions and voluntarily respond.
We will then perform a thorough hearing test, which will produce an audiogram showing whether you have a hearing loss or not, if the test indicates a loss we will be able to show and explain the extent of any such loss. Basically, the audiogram is the product of the hearing test, more precisely it is a graphical representation showing the loudness (intensity) levels at which specific pitches (frequencies) can only just be heard in each ear (hearing threshold), as well as some of the loudest sounds that we can hear without causing discomfort.
A hearing test is performed by an audiologist in our clinics. The objective is to find the softest volume level that you can hear. The test takes no more then an hour and is detailed enough to determine if hearing aids are required or not. Our audiologists will provide you with an explanation of the results and the effects it may have on your hearing.
Not everyone has a hearing loss, but for those who do there are many ways that they can be helped. It may be that from the test it becomes apparent that a person’s problem can be improved by medication or by surgery, in which case they will be refered to their GP. Those losses that can’t be improved in this way can often be improved by hearing instruments or special listening devices. Although even the most advanced and sophisticated hearing instruments cannot fully restore someone’s hearing, they can improve it considerably, hence giving a better quality of life.
