This page is provided to give you an appreciation of what hearing tests may be conducted during an initial consultation at HEARINGLife. Be reassured that all hearing tests are completely painless and comfortable – nothing at all to be worried about!
If alternatively, you would first like to conduct your own Online Hearing Test, simply click here.
The Audiogram
The most common hearing test is known as an Audiogram. This involves finding the threshold of hearing for pure tone sounds at a number of different frequencies that are important for speech understanding.
The patient will click a button when they hear a tone, as shown here.
Reading an Audiogram
Graphed results display the patient’s hearing threshold (the
softest sounds they can hear) for a range of frequencies for both ears. By comparing the figures, the Hearing Care Professional can assess the respective degree of hearing loss and find clues as to its origin. The results of the Audiogram are usually classified in the following ways:
- Type of hearing loss — sensorineural, conductive, mixed
- Degree of loss — normal, mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe, profound
- Slope of loss — flat, sloping, reverse slope, cookie bite, corner audiogram
- How the ears compare — bilateral/binaural, unilateral, symmetrical/asymmetrical
When there is a detectable hearing loss, the next step is to try and determine whether the loss is caused by a sensory problem (sensorineural hearing loss) or a mechanical problem (conductive hearing loss). This distinction is made by using a bone vibrator, which bypasses the mechanical parts of the middle ear. If hearing is better using bone than air, this suggests a conductive hearing loss.
Speech Tests
Speech tests are commonly used to measure how well a patient can understand speech. They usually consist of lists of single words presented one by one at appropriate levels for the hearing loss.
For example, common age-related hearing loss (presbyacusis) typically begins with the loss of higher frequencies, so that certain speech sounds (such as ‘p’, ‘f’ and ‘t’) end up sounding very similar.
A further variation on speech tests is “Speech-In-Noise” testing. HEARINGLife conducts these tests as standard procedure, recognising that the greatest difficulty that most people with a hearing loss report is the ability to follow conversations in noisy environments. The results of these tests indicate the level of benefit a patient requires with a hearing solution.
Tympanometry
Tympanometry measures the mobility of the eardrum and is used to identify possible middle-ear dysfunction. It is helpful in detecting fluid in the middle ear, negative middle ear pressure, and disruption of the ossicles, tympanic membrane perforation, and otosclerosis.
To perform this test, a soft probe is placed into the ear canal and a small amount of pressure is applied. The instrument then measures movement of the tympanic membrane (eardrum) in response to the pressure changes.
The HEARINGLife Road Test
In addition to standard tests, HEARINGLife is the only hearing care provider to offer ‘Road Tests’ of the latest digital hearing aids. Should a hearing aid be a recommended solution, you will be able to conduct your own FREE, NO OBLIGATION “Road Test” of hearing aids in the real world.
We will take you into an environment that you would find difficult – a noisy environment – and run through some exercises so that you can hear for yourself the difference that a hearing solution may make.
We also offer loan aids — this is the ideal opportunity for you to try the latest digital hearing aids for a few days at home while you go about all their normal everyday activities. It will clearly demonstrate the benefits that digital hearing aids could bring to help them to enjoy life to the full.
Our objective is to ensure that our clients are able to hear the difference for themselves, before they spend any money.