Acoustic Audiology | Hearing Tests

Hearing Tests

Diagnostic evaluation to get a complete picture of your hearing system

A hearing test explains why you experience sounds and speech the way you do. Through a series of specialized tests, our clinical staff will analyze your entire auditory system.

Understand the status of your hearing and receive the best options for treatment and rehabilitation. As Lloydminster’s only hearing clinic with a Clinical Audiologist, Acoustic Audiology provides the highest standard of hearing care available.

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Why get a hearing test

A comprehensive hearing test is the foundation to hearing care. You need to understand the state of your hearing before you can take any steps to make it better. If you have never received a complete hearing test, we can confirm your hearing is normal or detect any potential issues. It can be difficult to notice or interpret the signs of hearing loss, so this important first step confirms the health of your entire hearing system.

If you experience signs of hearing loss, this test determines the severity and potential causes of your hearing challenges.

No matter the state of your hearing, a comprehensive hearing test provides our clinical team with the necessary information for an accurate diagnosis. This is the first step to providing high quality hearing healthcare.

Not all hearing tests are the same. The most common hearing test available is called a pure tone air conduction test. This is where you sit in a sound booth and press a button when you hear a beep. While this test is part of a comprehensive assessment, it is considered a hearing screening when used by itself. Think of a jigsaw puzzle - you can only get so much information from a single puzzle piece. As you put more pieces together, you get a more complete picture. The same is true of a comprehensive hearing test - each test is a piece of the puzzle. The more pieces we have, the clearer the picture of your hearing status. We cannot make informed decisions or make appropriate recommendations for care without the complete picture.

What to expect

A comprehensive hearing test at Acoustic Audiology takes approximately 1 hour. We encourage you to bring a family member or friend, and we’ll take the time to explain the results so you can make an informed decision. Optimal hearing care starts with a thorough understanding of your hearing test results.

1

Case History

The assessment begins with an in-depth questionnaire to give our clinicians information about your hearing health, noise history and medical history. A complete case history is essential for accurate diagnosis of any hearing or medical disorder.

2

Otoscopy

We will inspect your ear canal and ear drum using an otoscope. This physical inspection will look for any blockages from ear wax or any abnormalities in your outer ear.

3

Middle ear analysis and immittance audiometry

To review the middle ear system, we will analyze how much your ear drum and middle ear bones are moving. Certain hearing losses are due to a “loose” or “stiff” middle ear system that affects the way sounds are transmitted to your inner ear. We may also test your stapedial reflex (a contraction of the smallest muscle in the body) to determine the status of various nerves in the brain.

4

Otoacoustic emissions

We will test the mobility and function of the outer hair cells in your inner ear, which are one of the most common parts of the hearing system to get damaged. This test can be used to screen a newborn’s hearing – it can even be done when you are sleeping!

5

Pure tone audiometry

This is the part of a hearing assessment that people tend to remember the most. Various earphones and headpieces will be placed on or around your ears while you are seated in a sound treated booth. You will then listen to a series of beeps at various pitches.

This will help us determine the softest volume you can hear at various pitches – or more technically, this helps us determine how much sound pressure is required at various frequencies to stimulate your auditory cortex so that you “hear.” Pure tone audiometry helps us diagnosis the severity and location of a hearing loss and is one of the primary tests used to calculate prescriptions for hearing aids.

6

Speech audiometry

This is similar to pure tone audiometry, except you will listen to various words or phrases instead of beeps. These tests help us determine the accuracy of various other tests, as well as help us determine how well your entire hearing system works together. These tests are routinely carried out in quiet and in noise.

7

Putting it all together

All of these tests are what we call a comprehensive hearing test battery. No single test on its own gives us the whole picture. Instead, we need to look at all these tests together to understand your hearing system.

Our clinical audiologist, Terry Sokalofsky, oversees all patient care and provides comprehensive diagnostic evaluations for accurate diagnoses and recommendations.

8

Recommendations

Following a hearing test, our hearing healthcare specialists will provide you with recommendations for treatment and follow-up. The recommendations are personalized to every individual, but the options may include:

Prescription hearing aids
Referral to your family physician
Referral to an otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat specialist)
Referral to an otologist or neurotologist
Referral for bone anchored hearing aid or cochlear implant candidacy
Tinnitus treatment and management
Communication strategies training
Hearing protection devices
Assistive listening devices

Why Acoustic Audiology
for your hearing tests

A hearing assessment forms the foundation of any treatment or rehabilitation, so our hearing tests go beyond simply measuring how well you can hear. We will complete a series of tests to assess all aspects of your hearing system and discuss the impacts of your hearing on your lifestyle.

Acoustic Audiology is the only hearing clinic in Lloydminster with a clinical audiologist, so you can better understand why you experience sounds the way you do. We use this information to provide recommendations for next steps that can make the biggest difference to your hearing.