A full hearing test is the only way to effectively diagnose hearing loss and enable an audiologist to establish its type, cause and severity, and then make the most effective recommendations for treatment and long-term management of their condition.
All audiologists will offer either hearing tests, hearing assessments or hearing checks. What is involved in these can vary greatly from one provider to another, so it’s important to understand exactly what is being offered by the doctor or audiologist that you are seeing. It is also important to check the experience and expertise of the person conducting your hearing test, to give you the best possible diagnosis and hearing care going forwards.
Why is having a hearing test important?
If you think that you may have a hearing loss in one or both ears, the sooner you book a hearing test the better. There is no cure for hearing loss, but early diagnosis and an inpidually tailored hearing management plan can, in most cases, help slow down the rate of hearing loss and, with the right hearing aids, help improve the quality of each patient’s hearing in everyday situations.
Patient’s sometimes feel anxious or nervous about having a hearing test, not knowing what is involved. There is no need to be! A hearing test should be an entirely painless and comfortable experience and many patients are surprised by how relaxing and interesting their hearing test actually is! In many cases, hearing loss may be temporary and caused by a blockage of the ear canal, an ear infection or a build-up of earwax in the ear canal. In these cases a patient’s hearing can often quickly be restored to its previous levels.
What is involved in a full hearing test or assessment?
Your audiologist will usually start by asking you a series of questions about your general health, any previous and existing health conditions and about any medication that you may be taking. They will then speak to you about the symptoms of your hearing loss and how long you have been experiencing them. They should also ask you about your lifestyle, hobbies and work environments and about any everyday situations in which you find it difficult to hear clearly or follow conversations.
It’s often a good idea to bring your partner, a family member or a close friend with you to your hearing test, so that they can also help identify situations in which they may think you are struggling with your hearing.
Your audiologist will then check your outer ears, ear canal and eardrum, using an otoscope, a hand-held medical device with a magnifying lens and a bright light, that enables them to see into the ear canal as far as the eardrum and identify anything that could be affecting your hearing, for example a blockage cause by earwax, dried skin or a foreign object. They will also check the general health of your ears.
They will then undertake a series of tests to establish the state of your hearing in each of your ears. At Kent Hearing these tests will be specifically tailored to you and the information you have given us about your hearing loss symptoms. This will enable us to provide the most detailed, relevant and comprehensive information from which to make best possible diagnosis. Some of the tests that we may undertake are:
Pure Tone Audiometry
During this test you will be asked to wear headphones and listen to a series of sounds at different pitches, frequencies and volumes. Your audiologist will ask you press a hand-held button when you hear each sound. They will record your responses to produce an audiogram, a chart that shows the frequency and intensity of your hearing in each ear. The intensity of your hearing is measured in decibels, with normal hearing levels being 0-20 decibels, mild hearing loss 26-40 decibels, moderate hearing loss 41-55 decibels and severe hearing loss 71-90 decibels. Profound hearing loss (deafness) is recorded at 90 decibels and above.
This test will enable your audiologist to determine the cause, type and severity of any hearing loss and will help them to determine the best options for its treatment and management.
Tympanometry
Tympanometry tests the function of the middle ear and how well the eardrum (tympanic membrane) works and moves. The eardrum must be flexible and able to move freely in order to transmit sound from the middle to the inner ear. Your doctor or audiologist will use a small hand-held device to gently blow air from the ear canal to the eardrum and then assess the eardrum’s movement. This test is usually used to identify a build-up of fluid or an infection of the middle ear, a perforation of the eardrum or problems with the Eustachian tube which can cause hearing loss, tinnitus, ear and head aches and issues with balance.
Bone Conduction Testing
A bone conduction test is used to test hearing in the inner ear. This test is similar to Pure Tone Audiometry, in that you will be asked to respond to a series of sounds at different pitches, volumes and frequencies. However, rather than wearing headphones to deliver sound through the outer ear, you will be asked to wear a headband with a bone oscillator attached. This is carefully placed on the skull, either on the forehead or the mastoid bone.
Sound is then transmitted via the bones to the inner ear, bypassing the outer and middle ear. Your doctor or audiologist will record your responses and use these to help determine a full diagnosis.
Speech Testing
Speech testing is used to determine how well and at what volumes a patient can hear words and can identify speech sounds in quiet and or background noise. You will be asked to listen to a series of words recorded at different volumes and with different level of background noise present and to respond to these accordingly. The results of this test will help your doctor or audiologist measure your hearing in everyday situations and environments. These results will also help them to understand how a patient processes words as well as hears them.
Otoacoustic emissions testing
This test is used to test the function of outer hair cells in the inner ear. It can be quickly performed on babies, children and adults of all ages.
Acoustic reflex testing
This test is used to test the muscles in the middle ear, helping your audiologist to find the specific location of your hearing loss in some cases.
Auditory brainstem response (ABR)
Auditory brainstem response enables the audiologist to test the pathway of sound when it leaves the ear via the auditory nerve and travels up the brainstem to the auditory cortex. It is often used when testing the hearing of new-born babies or very young children, and can be done while a person is asleep or under anaesthetic.
Once the tests required have been completed, your doctor or audiologist should carefully consider your results and discuss these in detail with you. They will then make recommendations for a plan to manage your hearing for the long-term and improve it where possible in the short and medium-term. They may suggest that you wear hearing aids to improve the quality of your day-to-day of hearing and if so, they will discuss the different types of hearing aids available and their inpidual features and benefits with you. Once chosen, they will have your hearing aids inpidually programmed for your hearing loss and to will arrange a separate appointment for your hearing aids to be fitted.
A good doctor or audiologist will also arrange follow-up appointments to make sure you are getting the most from your new hearing aids and that they are performing at optimum levels.
It is important to check what is included in the price of your hearing aids. Some audiology practices include the first few hearing aid follow-ups within the cost of the hearing aids they provide. Other charge additional fees for every follow-up. Either way, regular appointments are recommended to check the state of your hearing and the effectiveness and functionally of your hearing aids. You can find more information on different types hearing aids at https://kenthearing.com/hearing-aids-services/
Onward referrals
Where the need arises, you may be referred to another healthcare professional, for example to your GP or an ENT specialist or surgeon. Your audiologist should explain to you what this referral is for and why it is being made. They should also provide a full and detailed report to both you, the patient, and to the healthcare professional that they are referring you onto.
What is the difference between a full hearing test and a hearing check?
Many audiologists offer free hearing checks. This is usually a 10–15-minute appointment during which they will check the health of your ears using an otoscope and then perform basic testing to determine whether you have some form of hearing loss.
These tests do not allow the audiologist to undertake the detailed and comprehensive testing required to make an accurate assessment of the cause, type and severity of a patient’s hearing loss and do not provide the detailed information needed to make a full diagnosis and recommendations for future hearing care and management. If you are considering have a hearing test, it is therefore important to establish and understand exactly what is being provided by the audiologist that you will be seeing.
How long will a hearing test last?
A full hearing test will usually take about an hour. The audiologist will usually triage each patient on the telephone when they book their appointment, so that they have a good understanding of their patients’ symptoms before they come for their appointment. Sometimes additional time may be needed to clear a patient’s ears of earwax or dried skin, which could be contributing to the patient’s hearing loss. Occasionally, in more complex cases, a subsequent appointment may be required to carry out additional testing. Your audiologist will discuss this with you should they need to.
How much does a hearing test cost?
Prices for hearing tests often vary dramatically from practice to practice. You should check the costs of hearing test being offered to you before you make your appointment. Consider these cost in relation to the expertise of the doctor or audiologist that you are due to see.
Consider also exactly what is being offered for the prices being quoted. For example, at Kent Hearing, should you need hearing aids following your test, we will deduct the cost of your hearing test from the cost of the hearing aids. We also provide free follow-ups and replacement hearing aid consumables for the first 24 months following your purchase. You can find more details on our hearing tests at https://kenthearing.com/hearing-tests-kent/
Children’s hearing tests
Some audiology practices offer paediatric hearing services, including hearing tests for children. Paediatric hearing testing is a specialised area of audiology, requiring specific training and expert skill sets. A children’s hearing test will follow a similar format to that of an adult but with a different range of tests being used depending on the child’s age. These may include play audiometry, pure tone audiometry, bone conduction testing, speech audiometry, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions and visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA).
Make sure you are in good hands
Whilst the ability of your doctor or audiologist to undertake the hearing tests mentioned above is important, their knowledge and experience in knowing both which tests to use and their expertise in interpreting the results of these tests to recommending the best options for treatment is crucial to your future hearing care. To make sure you receive the best possible treatment and care, we recommend you check the qualifications and experience of the audiologist you are booked to see and spend a little time reading reviews about the services they have provided to other patients.
Booking your hearing test at Kent Hearing.
At Kent Hearing, Dr Priya Carling, AuD, RHAD, offers a full range of comprehensive hearing tests for adults and children of all ages. Hearing tests can be booked by calling us on 01732 525912 or emailing us at info@kenthearing.com. You can find more information on all the hearing services that we offer at www.kenthearing.com.