What Will My First Hearing Test Be Like?

Getting a hearing test can help you to ensure that your hearing health is excellent. If you have any hearing loss, there are treatments that will help to correct your problem. If you have never had a hearing test, you may wonder what will happen during your appointment.

Background Information

If you have hearing issues, the audiologist will ask you some questions about your health. This information will include:

• Medications
• Family history
• Lifestyle background
• Your concerns
• Medical background

The information that the doctor gets from you will help them look for hearing problems. Be sure to tell them about any damage you have had to your ears or any illnesses. Anything that you think will be relevant to your hearing can be helpful.

The Hearing Test

The hearing test will take place in several different stages. Each test of your ear will help to determine if you have hearing loss. The tests will include:

• Physical inspection – During the physical inspection, the audiologist will look for damage. They will check your hair cells, skin issues, and wax build-up.
• Pure-tone test – This test will play many tones and sounds via headphones into your ear. Your doctor will ask you to press a button each time you hear a sound.
• Speech recognition test. Your doctor will play words through the headphones, and will ask you to repeat what you heard. This test will include background noise and no background noise.
• Tuning fork test – Your doctor will tap a tuning fork until it vibrates. Your doctor will then place it around different spots of your head. This will help to determine if there is nerve or mechanical damage to your hearing.
• Bone Conduction test – This test will use a small probe that vibrates. It will go behind the ear. The audiologist will be able to see how sound moves through your bones and inner ear.
• Tympanometry test – A plug will go into your ear and then will change the pressure in your eardrum. The audiologist will be looking to see how your middle ear responds.

After all the tests are complete, your audiologist will review the results. From there, they can determine what the next course of action is. If you need hearing aids, they will make that recommendation. They will help you to figure out the type of hearing aids you want.

Call Us Today

A hearing test is a painless way to check to see if you are suffering from hearing loss. At Chicago Beltone, we are here to help you to restore your hearing to as normal as possible. Please give us a call today to set up an appointment for your hearing test, and all your hearing care needs.