How Do Audiologists Test Your Hearing?

A hearing test checks your hearing to determine if you have any hearing loss. They can be carried out by various people who are trained to do so, including audiologists. An audiologist specializes in hearing care and can not only test your hearing but also help you to find the right solutions to hearing loss, such as hearing aids.

Hearing tests are actually a series of tests, which audiologists use to check the health of your ears and test your hearing. Together, the tests are used to create a complete picture of your hearing health. Here are some of the tests that your audiologist might carry out when you schedule a hearing test.

Physical examination

An audiologist will start by carrying out a physical examination of your ears. They will use an instrument called an otoscope to shine a light into your ears and take a look inside the ear canals. This will enable them to spot any physical signs of problems, such as ear infections, earwax buildup, irritation, or other damage to your ears. They will also discuss your medical history with you and any concerns that you might have about your hearing.

Pure tones test

The audiologist will use a pure tones test to test which sounds you can hear. They will give you a pair of headphones and play sounds at different volumes and frequencies. You will be asked to raise your hand or press a button when you hear the tone. The results of this test will be plotted on a graph called an audiogram, which will show your range of hearing in both your right and left ears.

Speech test

Your audiologist might also carry out a speech test. This is like a pure-tone test but they will play speech to see if you can hear and understand it. You might be asked to repeat back what you heard. This can help to determine how your hearing works in real-life situations.

Tympanometry

Tympanometry is a test that is used to check the functioning of your eardrums. A small device is placed in the ear and it will create pressure changes and generate sound. The audiologist is looking at how well your eardrum moves and the reflexive responses of the muscles in the middle ear.

Hearing test results

After having your hearing tested, the audiologist will sit down with you and go over your hearing test results. They will show you an audiogram graph, which shows the ranges of the sounds that you can hear in each ear. The Y-axis will show volume in decibels, while the X-axis shows frequency (pitch) in hertz. There will typically be a red line plotted for your right ear and a blue line for your left ear. If you have hearing loss, you might have more hearing loss in one ear than the other.

If your hearing test shows that you have hearing loss, the audiologist will talk to you about what you can do next, including discussing hearing aids with you.