What to Expect During a Hearing Evaluation

A hearing evaluation is a quick and easy series of tests to determine an individual’s ability to hear. A typical hearing evaluation may include:

1. A patient history is taken to review your medical and hearing history.
2. Otoscopy to examine the ears, confirm the ear drums are intact and the ear canals are clear.
3. A tympanogram to measure the pressure in the middle ear and to assess the eardrum’s mobility.
4. A detailed audiological evaluation which results in an audiogram depicting the degree and configuration of your hearing loss if any.

What happens during a hearing evaluation?

The individual will hear a series of tones that differ in terms of pitch via either insert earphones or headphones in one ear at a time.

The individual will respond by either raising his or her hand or pressing a button when he or she hears the sound. Once the individual has responded, the level of loudness of the sound will then be decreased and the hearing healthcare professional will see if the individual can continue to respond to the sound.

The audiologist is trying to find the level of loudness at which the individual can just barely hear the sound, which is individual’s threshold.