Hearing Test

Quick & Easy Test for Your Hearing Health!

Concerned about your hearing? Get a professional hearing test with a licensed audiologist for a clear picture of your hearing health.

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Audiometry Test: Checking Your Hearing

An audiometry test is a painless procedure that evaluates your hearing ability. It measures how well you can detect sounds at different volumes (loudness) and pitches (frequencies).

Here's a quick rundown:

Purpose: Assess hearing health, identify hearing loss, and determine its type and severity.

Procedure: Typically conducted by an audiologist in a soundproof booth. You'll wear headphones

Types of tests:

  • Pure-tone audiometry: Measures your hearing threshold for various tones.
  • Speech audiometry: Evaluates your ability to understand speech in quiet or background noise.
  • Cost-Effective: Over time, you'll save money by eliminating the need for frequent battery purchases.
  • Other tests may assess middle ear function and how well your ears differentiate sound direction.
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BERA Test: Diving Deeper into Hearing

The BERA (Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry) test is a specialized hearing evaluation that goes beyond simply detecting sound. It assesses how your auditory nerve transmits electrical signals from your ear to your brainstem in response to sound.

Key Points:

  • Purpose: Evaluates the auditory pathway, pinpointing the location and type of hearing loss (sensorineural vs conductive).
  • Use cases: Often used for infants, young children who can't participate in traditional tests, or adults with suspected nerve-related hearing problems.
  • Procedure: Electrodes are placed on the head and ears. Clicking sounds are presented, and the electrical activity in the brainstem is measured. The child needs to be sleeping or very still for accurate results.
  • Benefits: Provides detailed information about the auditory nerve function and helps determine the best course of treatment (hearing aids, cochlear implants).
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OAE Test: A Peek at Inner Ear Function

An OAE (Otoacoustic Emissions) test is a quick and non-invasive way to assess the health of the outer hair cells in your inner ear. These hair cells play a crucial role in amplifying sound vibrations.

Here's the gist:

  • Purpose: Evaluates the function of outer hair cells in the cochlea, a part of the inner ear responsible for converting sound waves into electrical signals.
  • Use cases: Often used for newborn hearing screenings, children, or adults when traditional behavioral hearing tests are difficult.
  • Procedure: A soft probe with a tiny speaker and microphone is placed in the ear canal. The probe emits clicks or tones, and the test measures any faint echoes (otoacoustic emissions) produced by the hair cells in response.
  • Results: Normal OAEs indicate healthy outer hair cells. Absent or abnormal OAEs may suggest hair cell dysfunction, prompting further evaluation.
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Impedance Testing: Probing the Middle Ear

Impedance testing, also known as impedance audiometry, is a procedure used to assess the functioning of the middle ear.

Key Points:

  • Purpose: Evaluates the middle ear's ability to transmit sound waves. It helps diagnose conditions like fluid buildup, perforation of the eardrum, or problems with the ossicles (tiny bones) in the middle ear.
  • Procedure: A probe with a soft tip is placed in the ear canal. The probe emits sound and measures the amount of sound reflected back.

Types:

  • Tympanometry: Measures the pressure and movement of the eardrum.
  • Stapedial Reflex Assessment: Evaluates the involuntary muscle reflex that protects the inner ear from loud noises.

Benefits: Provides a painless and objective assessment of middle ear function, aiding in early detection and treatment of middle ear issues that can affect hearing.

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