What is included in a Diagnostic Hearing Evaluation?

A Diagnostic Hearing Evaluation includes: 

• Otoscopy:  Looking for foreign matter, etc, in the outer ear canal.  Visual assessment of the eardrum.  
• Tympanometry: Evaluating the middle ear system.  This includes the eardrums, the small bones of the middle ear, and the Eustachian tubes.  Looks for excess middle ear pressure and/or fluid in the middle ear cavity; measures the mobility of the eardrums and the bones in the middle ear.  
• Acoustic Reflex: Evaluating auditory nerve integrity. 
• Audiogram: Evaluating hearing sensitivity.  Assesses how soft a sound (tone) you can hear, from very low-pitched tones to very high-pitched tones.  The sounds will be presented via air conduction and bone conduction.  Air conduction testing takes into account the outer, middle, and inner ear.  Bone conduction testing bypasses the outer and middle ear systems and sends the signal directly to the inner ear.  If there is a difference in hearing sensitivity between these two tests, there may be a problem occurring in the middle or outer ear that is not allowing the sound to be conducted as well as it should to the inner ear. (see Audiograms)
• Speech Testing: Assessing speech understanding ability. 
• Comfortable loudness levels: Determining your most comfortable range of hearing, from soft to comfortable to loud, not to exceed your determined uncomfortable loudness level.  
• Consultation by an Audiologist, explaining all test results and answering any questions you may have regarding your hearing.  If results indicate a possible medical condition, a recommendation to see a physician will be made at this time. (See What We Do)
• Appointment time:  Approximately 30-45 minutes.

Hearing Screenings

A diagnostic hearing evaluation is different from a hearing screening.  A hearing screening tests the sensitivity to air conduction tones only, and usually only four primary tones are screened.