There are at least five parts to a hearing assessment, which collectively provide an audiologist with the information necessary to arrive at an accurate diagnosis.
- History the audiologist will consider information you provide regarding your hearing health, any familial patterns relating to hearing problems, and noise exposure levels.
- Otoscopy using an auriscope (ear light) the audiologist will examine the appearance of your ear canal and ear drum.
- Tympanometry this is a test of the middle ear including the ear drum and is conducted using a tympanometer.
- Pure Tone Audiometry Sounds at different frequencies are presented to each ear separately via headphones or insert earphones. This is how we identify your hearing thresholds and determine whether your hearing loss is sensorineural conductive or a mixed loss.
- Speech Audiometry in this test you will hear a male voice read a series or words, at a volume calculated from your hearing thresholds, which you will be asked to repeat. This will provide an audiologist with an indication of how well your brain is able to use auditory information.
Terms Used to Describe Hearing Loss
Loudness: Decibel (dB)
Pitch: Frequency
Severity of hearing loss: Mild, Moderate, Severe, Profound
Shape of hearing loss: Flat, Sloping, Ski-slope
Degrees of Hearing Loss
A hearing loss can be labelled as mild, moderate, severe, or profound. These four levels, in addition to normal hearing are shown below.
